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THE 



SPIRITUAL TEACHER; 



COMPRISING A 



snn» qi mewi murum 



NATURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE SPIRIT. 



itlriffeii by Sfwrife of % Sixii) Circle. 

V 

R. P. AMBLER, Medium 
H 

Wisdom speaks when mortals listen 



!-♦« »»■ »— 



L 

XEW YORK : 

R. P. AMBLER, 208 BROADWAY 
1852. 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1852, 

By R. P. AMBLER, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, 
for the Southern District of New York. 



ALL ASPIRING SOULS, 

WHO SEEK FOR TRUTH OX EARTH 

AND FREEDOM IN THE SPHERES, 

THIS VOLUME 

rs 

AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED 

BY 

ITS UNSEEN AUTHORS 



LECTURES. 

I. Address to the World 1 

II. Worldly Happiness 4 

III. Spiritual Wisdom 13 

IV. Nature or the Human Spirit . m . . . . 22 

V. Authority of the Bible 39 

IV. The Heaven of the Spirit 53 

VII. Circles of the Second Sphere 67 

VIII. Religion of the Church §6 

IX. Philosophy of Spiritualization . . . 101 

X. The Spiritual Initiation 125 

XI. Modes of Spiritual Intercourse . . . 136 

XII. Birth of the Spirit 145 



INTRODUCTORY TESTIMONY, 



In presenting this volume to the public eye, a few words 
of explanation are deemed appropriate with reference to 
the peculiar mode of its production. It may be stated at 
the outset, that the twelve lectures contained in this work 
were written in the presence of witnesses without thought 
or care on the part of the undersigned, and were presented, 
in the apparent ease and rapidity with which they were 
written, as a test of spiritual communion. The whole time 
required in writing these lectures was embraced in pre- 
cisely forty-three hours and forty-three minutes, the sub- 
jects herein discussed not having been previously investi- 
gated or even conceived by the writer, until they were 
gradually disclosed through the movement to which his 
hand was subjected. To me, indeed, the entire process 
was as wonderful and unexpected as to any person pre- 
sent, and when informed of the number of pages that 
had been written during the first four hours of my sitting, 
I felt literally oppressed with astonishment, — as in my 
former condition when not sensibly assisted by spirits, I 
was accustomed to write quite slowly and always with 
considerable labor. 

But a more complete and satisfactory statement of this 
matter may be found in the following testimony, which 
was voluntarily given and published by the individuals 
who witnessed the writing of this book :— 



b INTRODUCTORY TESTIMONY. 

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN. 

The undersigned, having been called upon to bear wit- 
ness to the writing of a book purporting to emanate from 
spirits and to be given to the world through the medium 
of R. P. Ambler, and having witnessed the writing of this 
book as requested, which book is to be soon presented to 
the world, desire to respectfully submit the following state- 
ments : 

1. With relation to preliminary arrangements, it may be 
stated that Mr. Ambler was seated beside a small portable 
desk, furnished with implements for writing but removed 
from all books,pamphlets, or papers, and that he was sup- 
plied with sheets of paper separately as they were needed, 
these having been previously examined, signed and num- 
bered by at least two witnesses, for the purpose of precluding 
all possibility of fraud or deception. 

2. By reference to the facts in the case, it is found that 
this book has been written with vast and almost incredible 
rapidity. On this point the undersigned would state that 
the whole book, which comprises a series of twelve lec- 
tures, extending over two hundred and six pages of fools- 
cap paper, was written within four days, this process hav- 
ing been commenced on the morning of Wednesday, March 
10th, 1852, and completed on the following Saturday eve- 
ning, March 13th. The average time per day employed 
in writing was ten hours and fifty-five minutes, and the 
maximum number of pages produced on a single day was 
fifty -Jive , the shortest time ocupied in writing a single page 
being eight minutes. 

3. With relation to the manner in which this book was 



INTRODUCTORY TESTIMONY. 7 

written, the undersigned would state that the hand and 
arm of the medium were suspended during the whole time of 
writing in such a manner as not to rest on the desk or manuscript 
and that, upheld in this way, the pen glided rapidly over, 
the paper with an even and continuous movement without 
any apparent thought or care on the part of the writer, and 
without any perceptible pause at the commencement of 
sentences or paragraphs: and in this connection it may be 
mentioned that, frequently, when one lecture was finished 
another was immediately commenced in the same sitting, 
without any previous knowledge on the part of Mr. Ambler, 
according to his own statement, with regard to the subject 
to be discussed. 

4. During the process of writing which has been above 
described, Mr. Ambler appeared to be in the normal state, 
made frequent remarks to others while his hand was move- 
ing over the paper, and did not seem to be disturbed by 
the conversation of persons present. 

5. In the four days employed in the production of this 
work, the physical system of Mr. Ambler did not appear to be 
unfavorably affected by the application required in sitting, 
and he was not, according to a statement voluntarily made 
by himself, conscious of any unusual fatigue or exhaus- 
tion. 

6. In regard to the original manuscript of which this 
bock is a transcript, the undersigned will mention that 
this was written in a fair and legible hand, and to us appear- 
ed, with the exception of a few slight corrections, to be 
prepared for the compositor. 

As to the intrinsic merits of the book which is here 
mentioned, the undersigned will not speak, since it wa. 



8 INTRODUCTORY TESTIMONY. 

their office only to offer such statements in regard to the 
mode of its production as are appropriate and true. 

JAMES WILSON, 

JOHN D. LORD, 

MRS. G, W. HARRISON, 

MISS. DELPHINA P. DUBNAR, 

MRS. R. P. AMBLER. 

Springfield, March 20, 1852. 

In addition to the above testimony, it is proper to remark, 
that the original manuscript to which reference is here 
made, was placed into the hands of the compositor almost 
entirely without perusal or correction, and that, with a few 
trifling exceptions, the lectures are now presented to the 
public precisely as they were originally written. If in the 
present work are found those truths which are adapted to 
the desiring soul -^-truths which will serve to expand the 
reason, illuminate the understanding, and elevate the 
whole being of Man, the design for which it was intro- 
duced to the world will be doubtless accomplished. For 
the satisfaction of many inquiring friends, a brief outline 
of my individual experience has been prepared by the 
spirits, and will be presented in the article which follows* 

R. P. Ambler. 

New York July 7, 1852. 



EXPERIENCE OF THIS MEDIUM. 

It is the desire of the spirits who are members of the 
Sixth Circle of the Second Sphere, to unfold to the world 
. the experience of the individual whom they have selected 
as a medium for the transmission and revelation of impor- 
tant truths. This experience comprehends the truths and 
principles which constitute the primary lessons that are 
necesssry to be first learned and understood, in the course 
of spiritual progress on which the earthly world is destined 
to enter. It will illustrate the mode of opeiation which 
the spirits of this Circle employ for the purpose of enlight- 
ening and developing the human spirit, and it will reveal 
the philosophy of those mysterious trials and sorrows, 
which have been imposed upon the individual through 
whose physical organization they now write. Therefore 
will the unseen writers proceed to present a brief and com- 
prehensive statement of the experience through which he 
has passed as a scorching but purifying fire. 

The spirits who are developed in the wisdom of this 
Circle, desired to establish an intercourse with the world 
for the purpose of introducing truths which have not been 
revealed in all the ages of the past — truths which will 
sink down into the recesses of the spirit, and unfold the 
beautiful germ of purity which there exists. To accom- 
plish this object, it was seen to be wise to select an indi- 
vidual who, from the first buddings of infancy, should be 
moulded and influenced in such a manner as to possess 
the appropriate qualities of soul, which would be adapted 
to the mission that was held in view. Among the numer- 



10 EXPERIENCE OF THIS MEDIUM. 

ous personalities that were born upon the earth, the spirits 
discovered this individual as a being who would inher- 
it a healthy and harmonious constitution, and whose spirit 
would naturally and irresistibly seek the divine inspira- 
tion which flows from Nature and the Spheres. Accord- 
ingly, by a unanimous consent of the Sixth Circle, the in- 
dividual referred to was selected as the medium through 
whom the treasured wisdom of spirits might be revealed 
to the earthly mind, and this selection was responded to 
with songs of angelic praise and love by the host of the 
heavenly-born. All unknown and unsuspected was this 
decision of the spirits by the medium whom they had 
chosen, and all unanticipated and undesired at this early 
period was the blessing which they designed to bestow 
But unseen the celestial guardians watched over the in- 
fant and the youth. With silent whisperings of thought 
they guided and controlled his steps • with sweet and 
thrilling inspirations they cheered and animated his spirit, 
and by a powerful moulding of circumstances and condi- 
tions, they introduced him by degrees into that expansive 
sphere of thought and labor which they had designed he 
should enjoy. In order to successfully accomplish the end 
which they proposed, the course of education and training 
was caused to be one of such a character as would natu- 
rally develop the most sublime and interior qualities of the 
soul ; and this education and training had also a tendency 
to discipline and strengthen the powers which were to be 
afterwards exercised in the career of spiritual ministry. 
By the aid and instruction which he had received from in- 
visible agents, as well as by the force of circumstances 
which they had measurably controlled, he was en- 
abled to enter into the pulpit at the age of fifteen years, 



EXPERIENCE OF THIS MEDIUM. 11 

as a minister of the gospel. Pale was the youthful cheek 
when, as if struggling in the mazes of a dream, he first 
lifted up his voice in the sanctuary of worship ; yet strong 
grew the heart which the dawning of beautiful truths had 
cheered in that solemn hour, and deep flowed the thoughts 
from lips which had been tuned to the utterance of the 
soul's music. There was even then a vision of the future 
flitting among the shadowed thoughts of the youth, and 
floating through the vista of coming years, — for while yet 
he spake to the people of the attractive power of love ; and 
showed by what a silent and inward power the Divinity 
was to attract all his children towards the vortex of the su- 
preme glory, he unfolded the exalted destiny of humanity 
upon the earth, breathing out the picture of that universal 
love and harmony and peace, towards which the race of 
man are rapidly and inevitably tending. 

From this point in the history of the individual whose 
experience is here related, there was manifested a rapid 
progress towards the desired result which had been long 
anticipated, until he at last reached the point of spirit- 
ual development and enlightenment which was adapted 
to the revealment of a more complete and immediate in- 
tercourse on the part of his invisible friends. According- 
ly, in the evening of the sixteenth of December, 1851, he 
was irresistibly impressed to retire to his chamber and 
place his hand in the attitude of writing. Soon the spirits 
were enabled to produce a slight movement of the hand 
which he perceived, and this was continued until the pen 
was carried completely across the paper and returned 
again in the same manner. After several movements of 
this nature, the spirits guided the hand in such a manner 
as to produce the figure of a star, which was made as the 



12 EXPERIENCE OE THIS MEDIUM. 

first sign of intelligence to indicate hope and progress. 
Then various angular and irregular marks were traced 
which resulted in the formation of the word "Constance" — 
which word indicated the spiritual name of the individual 
on whom they were operating. But this was not understood 
by the medium, and the spirits perceived a shadow of dis- 
trust and perplexity stealing across his mind, until he men- 
tally exclaimed, "This is very strange — I do not understand 
it". To quiet and satisfy the mind which was struggling 
with the burden of a new-born joy, the spirits, by a powerful 
effort, succeeded in writing the words, "This is practice* 7 . 
Then through the influence of a spiritual impression, the me- 
dium was caused to leave the table at which he was seated, 
and thus commenced the first obvious and external inter- 
course which he held with the invisible world 

The spirits, having gradually obtained control of the 
physical system of their medium, proceeded to test the 
powers and qualities of the spirit, by placing him in 
such circumstances as would have a tendency to exercise 
to their utmost capacity the inward energies of his nature. 
These circumstances were of the most painful and agoniz- 
ing character, and were designed as a means of trying the 
real strength which was possessed by the inward being 
The test was in all respects satisfactory to the spirits. Be- 
neath the heavy burden of woe which had been imposed, 
the medium stood up in the pride end dignity of his nature, 
and bid defiance to all the powers of heaven. This result 
was precisely what the spirits had desired, and they re- 
joiced when they saw that the soul was not crushed by 
the storm which had been breathed upon it, but rose above 
the agony of the hour which was dark and fearful with 
portending grief. From this time until the date at which 



EXPERIENCE OF THIS MEDIUM. 13 

this article is written, the course of the spirits with their 
medium was involved in the deepest and most perplexing 
mystery. He was subjected to a course of discipline which 
brought forth and exercised the latent faculties of his being, 
and which, in the most singular and inexplicable manner, 
caused him to enter into a new and enlarged sphere of 
thought and feeling. The faculties of patience, persever 
anee, independence of mind, and spirituality, were de- 
veloped in the soul by the influence of certain conditions, 
which were unavoidable as they were unanticipated ; and 
these faculties, in their exalted and sublime action, invited 
the lessons of heavenly wisdom which could not have 
been otherwise received. Thus was the individual select- 
ed moulded as the spirits desired for the work to which he 
was destined. The education which he derived in his 
intercourse with spirits, was gained in the severe, but prof- 
itable school of experience ; and the impressions which were 
in this manner created, are destined to be lasting as the 
soul itself, — though it is true that, for wise and benevolent 
purposes, the details of the experience here mentioned 
have been almost entirely removed from the memory of 
the individual by whom it was undergone. 

When the course of discipline had been completed as 
was announced through the columns of the Spirit Messen- 
ger, the invisible friends of the world commenced the pro- 
cess of spiritualization, the nature and philosophy of which 
are explained in a lecture on this subject contained in 
another part of the present volume. To carry on this pro- 
cess as was desired, and as was essential to bring their me- 
dium to the required condition, the spirits operated direct- 
ly upon both the physical and spiritual system, causing 
indescribable sensations of pain in the one, and the most 



14 EXPERIENCE OF THIS MEDIUM. 

intolerable agony in the" other. This mode of operation- 
was utterly mysterious, and indeed literally dreadful to the 
medium affected by it, and in the torture of mind and body 
to which he was subjected, he cried even unto God for 
that mercy which he supposed had been denied by His 
ministering spirits. But he knew not the beautiful process 
that was taking place within the structure which writh- 
ed in suffering; he knew not that the spirit was being born 
into the world of interior life and light ; he knew not, when 
the clenched hand was made* to beat his brow, that the 
vision of the soul was thus being developed and expanded • 
he knew not that wisdom and goodness superintended the 
agonizing ordeal, though he prayed that the bitter cup 
might pass away from his lips. Had the spirits with whom 
he held communion been actuated by a feeling of sympa- 
thy without a predominance of the wisdom-principle, they 
would not have manifested such seeming cruelty to one 
whom they deeply love; but while they looked down upon 
him with emotions of heavenly compassion in his moments 
of suffering, they beheld the result to be accomplished as 
a greater and sublimer good, which would more than com- 
pensate for all that had been endured in trial and sorrow. 
The spirits have now demonstrated to this individual that 
they are not evil in their nature, but have been moved 
by a wisdom and goodness which, in the earJier stages of 
his development, he was not prepared to perceive or com- 
prehend. 

The result which has been attained by the process of 
spiritualization, is one which can only excite the emotions 
of gratitude and joy on the part of the medium who has 
been subjected to this trying ordeal. Though the spirits 
have interfered with his earthly interests — though they 



EXPERIENCE OF THIS MEDIUM. 15 

have found it necessary to disturb his business relations, 
and though for weeks they have refused to write the in- 
spiring truths for which his soul has thirsted, yet is he now 
elevated to a position where he can perceive the wisdom 
of the course which has been pursued, and the benevo- 
lence of the design in which this was first conceived. The 
sweet sense of harmony which pervades the entire system 
— the deep, inexpressible tranquillity which, like the wa- 
ters of the unruffled lake, reflects the serenity of heaven 
— the unfolded senses of the soul whereby it sees and 
hears the realities of the Spiritual Universe, and the de- 
veloped germ within where thoughts of everlasting beauty 
and happiness are reposited, — all unite to form an incense 
of love and praise which rises ever upward to the receiv- 
ing heavens. Yet there is a truth which the spirits desire 
to express in this connection, and that truth is that the 
process to which they have reference, is not one to be de. 
sired by the weak and superficial mind — a mind whose 
thoughts are engrossed by external things — whose aspira- 
tions are confined to the attainment of worldly wealth — 
whose life is yet feeble and suppressed beneath the bur- 
den of earthly corruption. For it is freely and designedly 
confessed, that this process is one which tries the soul — 
which exhausts its inmost strength, and renders death 
but a welcome change ; and when the process has been 
carried on to the height desired, there is an absence of all 
hope — an utter desolation of the spirit — a state of terri- 
ble and unbroken darkness, which appalls the most power- 
ful and determined mind. The spirits have not designed 
that the mass of the world shall be subjected immediately 
to this process, because it is one which could not be gene- 
rally or patiently borne, and which would result only in 



16 EXPERIENCE OF THIS MEDIUM. 

mental confusion and distress; but they have designed 
that this should be endured by a few individuals whom 
they have decided to employ as instruments in the work 
of human redemption. For the consolation of such it 
may be repeated, that the reward which is ultimately 
attained — the spiritual powers and gifts which are bestow- 
ed as the crowning blessing of this process, more than 
compensate for all the suffering which may be endured in 
their attainment. Indeed it is only through this process 
as a means that the human spirit can be fully concentra- 
ed and individualized in its material frame, and therefore 
it is only by this that the highest and sweetest blessings of 
the spirits can be conferred upon man. Thus the mys- 
teries which have seemed so deeply dark, are penetrated 
by the light of heavenly wisdom; and the clouds which 
looked so dense and fearful, are seen to only veil the radi- 
ance of a glorious sun. 

It should be observed that, in the foregoing remarks, 
the spirits have only presented a general outline of the 
experience of this medium, without descending to those 
minute details which it would be painful to revive in his 
memory. In closing their remarks on this subject, 
they will say that he is now prepared to receive the spirit- 
ual initiation or introduction into the temple of celestial 
realities, and that from time to time other works of great- 
er value and importance than this, will be written with his 
hand and published to the world. 

Spirits of the Sixth Circle 



LECTURE I 

ADDRESS TO THE WORLD. 

Looking down from the serene heights of their sublime 
abode, the spirits of the Sixth Circle desire to present to 
the inhabitants of the earth a revealment of truths and 
principles which are adapted to the present state of human 
development. They desire to speak to the world in the 
tones of kindness, and to express the thoughts which they 
have gathered in their researches into the mysteries of the 
Universe. The object of the present Lecture, which will 
be exceedingly brief, is to unfold an analysis of the designs 
which spirits have in view in their intercourse with the 
children of men. It should be understood that these de- 
signs do not comprehend the selfish gratification of any 
desire on their part, which has not a connection with the 
interest and welfare of those whom they address. The 
spirits have no low ambition to gratify in the presentation 
of heavenly truths ; they have no selfish motives by which 
it is possible for them to be governed in the labor of human 
enlightenment, and they have no power to stoop from the 
height of their sublime wisdom, to administer to the sen- 
sual passions and tendencies of the people. Therefore 
they will speak of the realities which need to be revealed, 
for a purpose which is high and holy as their own blissful 
state. 

In the darkness and depravity of the human mind, it has 
not properly appreciated the reality of a future exist- 



2 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

ence ; it has not conceived or realized the sublimity of an 
intercourse with spirits, and it has not been suitably in- 
formed with relation to the truths which are beheld and 
known in the celestial world. From this lamentable gloom 
in which the soul has been sunk for ages ; the race has 
groped with no guide but the feeble light of earthly wisdom 
and thus, through a long and doleful night, the children 
of men have mourned and sorrowed as those without hope, 
beholding no light and no sign of day in the clouded and 
threatening sky. But, in the present era, the dawn is rap- 
idly approaching. It is the mission of spirits to bring life 
and immortality to light. They are sent forth as ministers 
of truth and knowledge to reveal the reality and nearness 
of the spiritual world, to overshadow the thirsting souls of 
men with the glory of the angelic presence, and to speak, 
in the tones of deepest love, the wonders of the Divine 
creation. To the lonely and depressed they whisper, and 
the heart which was crushed with grief becomes strong 
with inward hope, while beneath the power of the influx 
which they are pouring into the universal mind of human- 
ity, the clouds of superstition and error are taking their 
everlasting flight. 

The midnight of the world is past. The light of the 
dawn is streaming through the shadows of the departing 
gloom • and the great world is awakening to its glorious 
destiny. Arise, for the day is at hand. The glory of the 
Heavenly Spheres is dawning upon the earth, and the 
brightness of angelic wisdom is irradiating the darkened 
bosom of humanity. The time for thought has come ; the 
time for investigation can be no longer delayed, — and the 
time for action will come, when the period of the prevail- 
ing darkness shall be ended. When the light of Heaven 



ADDRESS TO THE WORLD. 3 

has entered into the human mind — when the radiance of 
higher Spheres shall have been revealed to the world in 
all its overpowering splendor, then shall the wrongs and 
evils whose existence is now lamented be removed, and 
then shall the song of joy and praise be lifted to the echoing 
heavens. 

Behold, the angels have now gained a strong and irre- 
sistible control over the world, and they have decided to 
accomplish the purpose which they have conceived. They 
will cause the tears of men to flow no more ; they will turn 
the doleful cries of suffering into the anthem of universal 
joy, — and they will cover the desolated earth with fruits of 
immortal growth, whose life shall be breathed out as sweet 
incense unto God. Long have the husbandmen labored 
as in a barren field, but the time of the harvest is approach- 
ing. The will of the celestial world shall be accomplished, 
and the darkness shall flee away beneath the light which 
shall break, like glorious morning, on the benighted earth ! 

Spirits have waited long for the approach of this day. 
Tkey have gazed earnestly through the hazy gloom of 
earthly imperfection towards the brightness of the Spirit- 
ual Era. Then have they rejoiced with the joy of fulfilled 
desire, that the fruits of their long labors are beginning to 
be seen upon the earth; and that the beautiful unfoldings 
of love and truth are about to expand, and brighten, and 
hallow the inner sanctuary of Man. Let the world listen 
in the future to the revelations of truth, as it has received 
in the past the influx of celestial breathings. 



LECTUKE II. 

WORLDLY HAPPINESS. 

Worldly happiness is a happiness which the world enjoys. 
It is a happiness which the children of the earth love and 
seek. It is a happiness which those who are engrossed in 
the affairs of the lower sphere are laboring to attain. It is 
a happiness which the selfish, grasping and avaricious seek- 
ers of wealth are laboring to find. It is a happiness which 
the proud and haughty tyrant — the lover of pleasure — the 
sensual voluptuary, and the devoted worshiper of mammon, 
are unceasingly struggling to enjoy. It is a happiness which 
the wise and great of the earth are supposed to possess, and 
which the poor and lowly regard as the lofty and almost 
unattainable eminence which can be reached by only the 
few and favored. It is a happiness which consists in the ac- 
quisition of the glittering baubles with which a child might 
play, which is found in the whirl of sensual excitement, 
and which is sought amid the scenes of revelry and dissi- 
pation. It is a happiness which is transient as the dreamy 
visions of youth, which is as unstable as the fleeting clouds 
of summer — which is as fickle as the changing winds of 
autumn. Therefore is the happiness of the world a happi- 
ness which should be viewed in its true light — a happiness 
which should be seen in relation to its inherent nature and 
external effects, that the inhabitants of the earth may turn 
from the idle dream in which they have so long indulged, 
and seek a happiness which is more satisfying in its ten- 
dency and more godlike in its character. 



WORLDLY HAPPINESS. 5 

The spirits have introduced the present subject because 
it is possessed of intrinsic importance — because it is a 
subject which should be known and understood by the 
children of earth, and because it will have a tendency to 
attract the degraded and allured victim of sensual lust to 
the attainment of a higher and more enduring joy. For 
this reason, this subject will be presented in its true light 
by those who see and analyze the elements which compose 
its nature, and who fully understand its bearing upon the 
interests of Man. What, then, is the happiness for which 
the world seeks and sighs ? What is the pleasure for which 
it labors so earnestly, and which it as constantly fails to 
obtain? The spirits will answer; and in the answer which 
they will furnish, may be found the true cause of the unhap- 
piness which is so universally experienced on the earth, and 
the source of that true and lasting enjoyment which the 
mass are blindly and unrighteously seeking. 

The happiness w T hich is sought by the world is a selfish 
happiness. Among the multitudes w r hich throng the marts of 
life, there are few indeed who are laboring with disinter- 
ested feelings and motives for the happiness of others. The 
primary and most prominent object for which all are labor- 
ing is the happiness of themselves, or, in other words, the 
gratification of their own selfish passions and desires. The 
individual who seeks the places of amusement where the 
gay and beautiful display their charms, is attracted only by 
a desire to gratify the feelings of the animal nature ; and 
the man who struggles in the marts of trade where the 
multitude are seeking for earthly treasures, is moved by an 
all-absorbing passion for the wealth which will rear a palace 
or deck his outward form with gold. So it is with all the 
various pursuits of human life. The spirits see that these 



6 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

are all impelled and actuated by the same general motive,. 
— that of furnishing a selfish gratification to the faculties 
of the sensual nature. This, therefore, is a vision which 
is exceedingly repelling to the inhabitants of the Second 
Sphere. When they behold the seekers of pleasure ex- 
pending all their energies in the pursuit of a worthless 
bauble, to the neglect of the higher and nobler faculties of 
their nature, they are filled with pity that the time which 
is passed on earth should be so miserably mis-spent. It is 
seen that man has no regard for the great world around him - 
that every individual is laboring for himself alone, and that 
each is endeavoring in his efforts to attain his desired object, 
to prevent his brethren from, enjoying the same gratification. 
It is seen that the aim of all the world is to heap up the 
treasures that are found upon the earth, and that he who 
has created or gathered the largest heap is esteemed the 
most happy. It is seen that with this individual desire, and 
for the object of defeating and trampling on each other, the 
mass labor with unwearied zeal to collect, each for himself, 
all the treasures that lie within his reach, without any re- 
spect for the wants of his poorer and less fortunate neigh- 
bor. It is seen that the success which follows this grasping 
and hoarding propensity of individuals, is called happiness, 
and that, since happiness is acknowledged to be the great 
end of human life, this propensity is cherished and nurtured 
within the breast of the mass as a means by which the most 
selfish and sensual feelings may be indulged. The spirits 
have gazed upon the great cities of the earth, where thou- 
sands are congregated in a comparatively small locality; 
they have looked with pity on the struggles of the poor and 
unfortunate ; they have witnessed with emotions of sym- 
pathy the distresses of those who were less successful than 



WORLDLY HAPPINESS. 7 

the more crafty in the attainment of worldly happiness, and 
they have seen that the cause of all the anguish and deso- 
lation which has crept into the human heart, is the erro- 
neous conception of what happiness is, and a debasing sel- 
fishness which would gather the whole world, if possible, 
under the direction of the individual will. Thus it has 
been seen that all the happiness of the world is selfish in 
its nature, and that all the misery of the world results from 
the circumstance that the selfishness of the heart is not 
fully gratified. 

There is another point in this connection which is wor- 
thy of being considered. This point has reference to the 
unsubstantial nature of the happiness which is enjoyed by 
the world. The spirits have looked into the homes of 
those individuals who are esteemed as the favored few up- 
on the earth whose desires are gratified and whose object 
has been fully attained ; and they have seen that the hap- 
piness which is beheld by surrounding individuals, is 
but a gilded show — an appearance which could deceive 
the external eye and inflame the earthly mind, but which 
contains no real or substantial joy. They have seen that 
even those who have been the most successful in the at- 
tainment of wealth, have been less successful in obtaining 
real happiness; that after laboring with unwearied energy 
for years in the active business of the world, individuals 
have sunk down into the lethargy of disappointment, while 
yet the golden trappings glittered upon their person ; that 
misery and wretchedness have crept into the palace where 
the rich man reclines upon his couch, or eats his costly 
viands. Thus have spirits beheld and realized the truth 
that the happiness of the world is unsubstantial — that it is 
not the reality which is indicated by its external appea- 



b THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

ranee, and that it contains no true and satisfactory enjoy- 
ment to the inward being. What is this happiness but a 
round of sensual pleasure ? — what is the enjoyment which 
the world seeks but the giddy whirl of excited throngs and 
the alluring pleasures of revelry and dissipation? These 
comprehend the sum of the happiness which the mass are 
ever seeking ) and when they have spent their energies, 
both physical and mental, for the attainment of this happi- 
ness — when they have labored for it through long years, 
and wept amid the toils that they have undergone, they have 
found at last, when they have reached the pinnacle which 
they once beheld in the distance, that the real object of their 
efforts — the substantial happiness for which they sighed 
and labored, is still as far away as when the tiresome race 
was first commenced. Behold ! the butterfly which they 
have sought so eagerly has at last been attained, and in ga- 
zing upon its golden pinions, they had thought to have found 
the acme of delight; but now that it is attained, they find to 
their deep disappointment that the beautiful form dies with- 
in their grasp and fades before their eager gaze. Such is 
the unsubstantial nature of worldly happiness. 

But still another truth is presented for elucidation in this 
place. This refers to the transient and fleeting nature ol 
the happiness which mortals seek upon the earth. When 
the joys for which they have sighed for years, have been 
attained through the exertions of unceasing industry, the 
reward which has been obtained is found to be only a 
perishable treasure, which the slightest breath of misfortune 
may immediately destroy. Like the dew-drops which spar- 
kle upon the breast of earth — like the rainbow that lingers 
in the weeping clouds — like the dreams which haunt the 
slumbers of the body, is the happiness which is sought on 



WORLDLY HAPPINESS. 9 

the planet which angels have now visited. It is seen that 
this is a happiness which never can be treasured in the 
heart — a happiness which can never be laid up in the depths 
of the sou], but that it is like the froth of the ocean which 
for a moment sparkles in the sunlight and then sinks beneath 
the wave. This truth is felt, and known, and realized by the 
inhabitants of the earth. It is felt in the anguish of the 
troubled and disappointed heart : it is felt in the sorrow of 
the breast which the wealth of the world has failed to 
soothe ; it is felt in the deep perplexity and distrust which 
are experienced by him who has mingled with the crowds 
of the ambitious and selfish, that are moving onward towards 
the same unsatisfying end. 

The spirits have delineated in the preceding remarks, the 
prominent characteristics of worldly happiness. They have 
spoken the words of truth and soberness when they have 
said that this happiness is selfish, unsubstantial and fleeting 
in its nature, and that it cannot be received as food and 
strength for the immortal being. But they have not yet 
finished their remarks upon this subject. There is a deep- 
er and more important principle to be elucidated than has 
been mentioned — there is a still more interesting and 
essential reality to be disclosed, which will have more im- 
mediate reference to the welfare of the race. In the 
elucidation of this reality, the spirits would remark that 
the happiness of the world is the happiness which belongs 
entirely to the animal and earthly nature. The trutn is, 
that man upon the earth has not properly realized the noble- 
ness and dignity of his own nature ; he has not appreciated 
the image of the Divinity which is impressed upon him ; 
he has not understood the relations in which he stands to 
the Supreme Being, and he has not felt the deep and thrill- 



10 



THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 



ing joy which wells up from the depths of the interior nature. 
Man has sought for happiness, but he has sought for it by 
an exercise of the most external faculties of his being — 
he has sought it by repairing to the scenes of vicious in- 
dulgence, and by steeping the soul in the lusts of the flesh. 
The consequence has been that the happiness which he 
has found has corresponded precisely with the manner in 
which this was sought. Having sowed to the flesh, he has 
of the flesh reaped corruption — and while he has adminis- 
tered to the sensual appetites and passions, he has 
discovered to his sorrow that he has been visited with the 
legitimate results of such a course; — he has found that he 
has been degraded, disappointed and perplexed — that he 
has utterly failed to obtain one unalloyed joy, or to expe- 
rience one deep and soul-thrilling delight. Thus has it 
been inwardly realized by the world that the happiness 
which is dependent upon the animal nature is unsatisfactory 
in its character, and contains the very elements of disap- 
pointment and sorrow. Many of the spirits which now 
write have desired that this truth should be placed before 
the world in its true light. They have desired that it should 
be seen as it really exists, unclouded by the shadows of 
bigotry. Let it, therefore, be seen and felt that the happi- 
ness of the world has been dependent upon the exercise of 
the sensual and animal nature ; let it be kept prominently 
in the mind that this happiness consists in the selfish grati- 
fication of those desires, passions and propensities, which be- 
long to the lowest and the most imperfect department of the 
human being : and then let it be deeply impressed, even as 
the truth is felt and lamented, that the pursuit of this happi- 
ness has been an unavailing and unsatisfactory labor, bring- 
ing sorrow, disappointment and grief to all who engage 



WORLDLY HAPPINESS. J J 

in the course of pleasure which has been here indicated, 
and ending in the destruction of alJ the sweet and blissful 
hopes which have arisen from the recesses of the pure heart. 
And when this truth has been fully impressed and under- 
stood, than let the inquiry be made which relates to the 
elevation of the race to a loftier plane of thought and feel- 
ing; and let it be inquired with relation to the nature and 
source of that true happiness which the world does not, 
and cannot afford. 

The inquiry which is here referred to will be answered 
by the writers of this Lecture \ and they will endeavor to 
elucidate a principle which is of the greatest importance 
to the inhabitants of the earthly sphere. It has been seen 
that substantial happiness cannot be obtained from the ex- 
ercise of the sensual faculties, for the reason that these are 
themselves unsubstantial ; and hence, as a corresponding 
truth, it may be discovered that true and imperishable hap- 
piness must essentially be dependent on the exercise of 
those faculties which are in their nature substantial and en- 
during. This will be recognized as a self-evident truth by 
the reasoning mind, and hence it may be considered as 
established on the highest authority which needs to be pre- 
sented. If, therefore, true and substantial happiness must 
be dependent on the exercise of those faculties which are 
themselves substantial, then it follows that this happiness 
will be obtained by a proper cultivation of the powers which 
are inherently united with that being which dwells within 
the outward frame, and is impressed with the stamp of the 
Divinity. The spirits are fully aware that this position can- 
not be controverted, and hence they wish it to be distinctly 
understood. It is stated that true and substantial happi- 
ness can be only experienced in the development and un- 



12 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

folding of the immortal being. The nature which reflects the 
beauty and glory of God — which is endowed with his own 
eternal being, and which is destined to grow brighter and 
brighter as it approaches nearer to the throne of the Everlas- 
ting, must be accepted and acknowledged as the basis of 
pure and unfading happiness — a happiness which will not 
pass away like the dreams of earth, but which will flow deep- 
er, and sweeter, and stronger through the very bosom of the 
soul as the endless ages of the Eternal roll away. This is the 
happiness which the spirits have labored, and are still la- 
boring, to introduce upon the earth. This is the happiness 
which they have desired that the earth-children should uni- 
versally enjoy. This is the happiness which is higher, and 
broader, and wider than the streams of time, reaching far out 
into the ocean of eternity. 



LECTUEE III. 

SPIRITUAL WISDOM. 

The subject which is indicated in the above title, is one 
of the greatest importance to those who are addressed in 
this volume. It will be the design of the spirits to reveal 
the nature of spiritual wisdom — to show the difference 
which exists between this and the wisdom of the world, and 
to present the object to be attained by the human mind in 
such a clear and attractive light, as shall be adapted to the 
mental conceptions of the world. The sentiment has pre- 
vailed on the earth, that wisdom is the mere attainment of 
exterior knowledge — that it is the gathering of certain 
forms and thoughts into the recesses of the memory, and 
that it is attained by the profound study of ancient books, 
by poring over antiquated doctrines and theories, and by 
introducing into the chambers of the mind the rubbish 
which the learned of past ages have been engaged in col- 
lecting. The spirits have seen the wisdom of the earth, 
and they have seen that it is stagnant, and dead, and worth- 
less ; they have seen that it has no beauty or animation 
sufficient to render it worthy of the name which it has been 
made to bear, and they see that the beauty and grandeur 
of the wisdom which resides in the spiritual world has no 
correspondence with that which has its birth and death in 
the world of undeveloped humanity. The spirits will, 
therefore, speak without hesitation of the wisdom of earth 
and the wisdom of Heaven ) and, unmindful of the preju- 
dices and perversions of the earthly soul, they will endeavor 



14 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

to present a true conception of ihe divinity and purity of that 
wisdom which has its birth and everlasting life in the re- 
gions of unending bliss. 

It will be the primary object of the writers of this lecture 
to unfold the prominent characteristics of the wisdom of 
spirits, as beheld in contrast with the apparent characteris- 
tics of the wisdom which prevails on earth. The first point 
which they desire to have understood, is the spirituality of 
the wisdom of Heaven. By this term is signified that this 
wisdom has no reference to the mere external arrangements 
which form the prominent object of human labor. The 
wisdom of the Second Sphere is the wisdom which has 
relation to the things of the spirit, and which searches into 
the deep things of God. The wisdom of the Heavenly 
Spheres is the wisdom which analyzes the profound princi- 
ples of the Universe, and which penetrates through the su- 
perficial coating that makes the appearance of external 
things. This is a wisdom which soars above the fleeting 
and fading objects of the earthly sphere; it is a wisdom 
which rests upon the foundation of the Eternal Mind, and 
which has reference to the most sublime and heavenly re- 
alities of his creation. Thus the wisdom of the spirits is the 
wisdom of God, and the wisdom of God is the source of life 
and light to the soul. The wisdom of the world is the wis- 
dom which is the gathered error and ignorance of centuries, 
and which counsels to promote the good of man, while it 
wants the power to accomplish the design which it forms. 
Therefore is the wisdom of the world a wisdom which is 
imperfect and corrupt in its nature, and weak and powerless 
in its action. Spirits see what will be an antidote to the 
weakness and imperfection of the wisdom which is of the 
earth, and they see that the only means of supplying the 



SPIRITUAL WISDOM. 15 

world with the essence of spiritual vitality, is the wisdom 
which is pure and immortal, and which flows down from 
the serene heights of Heaven. 

It has been stated that the wisdom of Heaven is pervaded 
with the animating presence of spirituality. This is a truth 
which should be properly appreciated. In the wide-spread 
earth where the millions toil, and groan, and suffer — where 
the poor and suffering beg for the bread which keeps the 
machinery of life in motion, may be seen an illustration of 
the wisdom of the earthly mind. The designs of men are 
the designs of minds which have no power to accomplish 
the results which are conceived and desired ; and the rea- 
son that these minds are thus weak and powerless in their 
influence , is that the wisdom by which they are moved 
and animated is worldly, grasping, and selfish. When the 
highest thoughts of the soul are caused to be abosorbed in 
the corruptions of the world — when the best affections and 
noblest aspirations of the inward spirit are crushed and 
suppressed by pride, and lust, and sense — when the life 
which dwells within the man is buried beneath the hard 
concretion of materialism, there can be no true wisdom 
— there can be no design which is worthy to be accom- 
plished, and there can be no power dwelling in the spirit 
to perform the fickle purpose which it cherishes. Yet in 
this statement is represented the precise state of the worldly 
mind. Amid the low and groveling multitude of human 
beings, but comparatively few can be found who have any 
thought or feeling which has not some relation, more or less 
remote, to the things of time and sense. If they think of 
the theories and doctrines of the most sublime Theology, 
the inward thought grovels at the shrine of popular devotion 
and worships mammon instead of the true God ; and if the 



16 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

sentiments of religious reverence are awakened by the 
power of foreign and disturbing influences, even these are 
mingled with the calculations of earthly profits and sensual 
pleasure. In this manner, the wisdom of the world — even 
that wisdom which sits within the sanctuary and reads 
lectures from the pulpit — is tinctured and corrupted with 
the things which belong to the transient forms and visions 
that haunt the realm of sensuous being. The wisdom 
of the world, therefore, is not spiritual — it is not fixed and 
founded on the eternal and unchangeable realities of the 
interior Universe, but it is a wisdom which delights in the 
oppression of the poor, in the suffering ot the needy, in the 
wails of the broken-hearted, in the sighs of the sorrowing 
and in the tears of the mourner, — because it is a wisdom 
which brings crime, and war, and inequality, to which 
causes all the evils that are felt and endured by the mass, 
are to be justly attributed. 

The wisdom which the world cherishes is thus the viper 
which winds its folds around the bosom where it is nour- 
ished, and implants a deadly sting in the vitals where it is 
allowed to rest. It is lamented by the spiritual world that 
man, on the earth, has been degraded by a wisdom which 
is not pure, and which is a cause of the deepest injury. 
It is mourned by those who see the saddening desolation 
which has swept over the face of humanity, that the bright- 
ness of the Upper Spheres has had no reflection in the 
sphere of earth, and that the voices which subdue and hal- 
low the bosom on which they fall, have had so faint an 
echo in the human heart. It is seen that man is degraded 
by the perversion of his mental powers — that he is turned 
aside from the course of justice and purity b)^ the imper- 
fections of his interior perception, and by the absence of 



SPIRITUAL WISDOM. \J 

that wisdom which is divine and eternal ; and when spir- 
its who dwell in a sphere of undying radiance thus look 
down upon the darkness of humanity, they are actuated, 
by the very love and sympathy which they feel, to expose 
the false and corrupting wisdom of the world, and substi- 
tute in its place a wisdom which entertains more exalted 
designs, and is endowed with a more irresistible power. 

Is not the wisdom of the world resolved into mere policy 
by which the things of the world may be obtained and 
preserved ? Is not this a wisdom whereby the end and aim 
of life become the attainment of wealth — the gathering 
of treasures which shine and fade before the gaze — trea- 
sures which the earthly grasp may never permanently 
secure, and which take to themselves wings and fly away 1 ? 
Is not the wisdom by which the mass are governed the deep- 
laid designs of avarice, ambition and sense? Is not this the 
agent of all those fearful crimes which have marred the dig- 
nity of the human being — the source of those dark streams 
of corruption which pour in overwhelming floods through 
the avenues of the social world — the prolific fountains of 
all those deep and heart-felt miseries which have burdened 
the breast of humanity as with a terrible nightmare ? Answer. 
ye who have witnessed the doleful scene — ye who have tas- 
ted the bitter waters — ye who have felt the cruel anguish. 
Look within the bleeding heart which labors with its untold 
anguish — gaze at the scene of poverty, and crime, and 
pollution, which is spread out before the eyes of spirits — 
witness the deep and heart-rending misery which is the 
effect of oppression and inequality in the rights and privi- 
liges of the mass — hear the groans which are forced from 
human hearts by the stern power of the tyrant, and then 
answer the demand of conscience which shows that all 



18 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

these results, and more which forbid expression, are the 
legitimate products of the wisdom which has been made 
the standard of thought, feeling, and action on the earth. 
When this is conceded, as it must be on the authority of 
reason, then the force and truthfulness of the statement 
will be perceived that the wisdom of the world is selfish, 
earthly and material in its character. If it is said that 
these evil results flow rather from a want of wisdom than 
from its gross and material nature, and that they are not, 
therefore, to be attributed to the wisdom of man, it will be 
said in opposition to this assertion, that the results which 
have been referred to proceed directly and immediately 
from the wrong institutions, the unwise regulations, and 
the perverting influences of existing society; and further- 
more, that these institutions, regulations and influences are 
created and established by that wisdom which dwells in 
the human mind on earth; and thus is it just and right- 
eous to attribute the results which are seen and lamented 
by the spirits, to that mortal and corrupted wisdom which 
is the primary source from which they flow. 

In the light of this conclusion, it will be seen that the wis- 
dom of the world needs to be eradicated from the earthly mind 
— that it needs to be dissipated like clouds before the light of 
morning — that it needs also to be superceded by a wisdom 
which is more pure in its nature, and more beneficent in its 
results. Therefore will the spirits now introduce the state- 
ment that the wisdom of Heaven is the wisdom which 
should be received and known on earth — that the accu- 
mulated thoughts and experience of angels should be 
substituted for the blindness and imperfection of human 
ignorance. That this truth may be clearly perceived, the 
spirits will say that the darkness of the night which has 



SPIRITUAL WISDOM. 19 

long rested upon the shadowed earth, shall be dispelled by 
the radiance which has its origin in the Spiritual Spheres ; 
and that the beauty of such a process will be seen and ap- 
preciated by the purified and elevated souls which look 
upward for the light, and not downward to the source of 
darkness. The wisdom of Heaven is not like the wisdom 
by which the human world has been degraded during the 
long ages of the past ; and the mission which it will per- 
form among the mass of human beings will be seen in the 
spiritualization, elevation, and refinement, of the earthly 
soul. It is this wisdom which is to be substituted for that 
which depresses, and weakens, and crushes the immortal 
energies. It is this which is to have an influence to dis- 
pel the ignorance and superstition of the world, and which 
is to clothe again the heart which was destitute of its true 
joy, with the happiness and power of Heaven. It is this 
which shall remove the evils and wrongs of society — which 
shall eradicate the lingering roots of oppression and sor- 
row — which shall overturn the temples of a corrupt and 
heartless religion, and which shall bring to all the weep- 
ing and mourning children of humanity, the joy which 
the freed spirit knows when it enters he eternal home. 
Therefore shall the wisdom of Heaven prevail over the 
wisdom of earth : and thus shall its victories be welcomed 
with the songs of the redeemed heart — with the praises 
of the worshiping soul, and with the silent incense of in- 
ward and holy gratitude. The power of the wisdom which 
is here indicated, consists in its spiritual nature. It is 
known in Heaven that there is here an element of vitality 
which can never be destroyed — that there is here a power 
which can never be weakened — that there is here an au- 
thority which can never be resisted. It is upon the eternal 



20 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER, 

realities of the interior world that this wisdom is based ; it 
' is in the deep heart of the spiritual Universe that its power 
is founded, and it is in the all-pervading essences and ele- 
ments of Nature that it finds the light which it imparts to 
those who dwell in darkness. Shall mortal arm oppose 
such wisdom as this ? Shall human scom ; or contempt, 
or prejudice stay the stream of truth, and love, and harmo- 
ny which it rolls through all the channels of human life 1 
No. The feeble arm may be raised — hatred, and op- 
position, and bigotry may be made the external manifes- 
tations of human folly, but the power of the spirits which 
consists in the interior wisdom that they have gathered., 
can never be successfully resisted, and the result which 
this w r isdom conceives will be executed by the power which 
it innately possesses, and none shall be able to stay its pro- 
gress or arrest its triumph. Then, in the wisdom w T hich lives 
and has its being in the minds of angels — in the wisdom 
which has its birth in the fountain of Supreme Intelligence, 
let mortals place their trust; and when the gloom and sor- 
rows of earth weigh down the spirit wdth their fearful w r eight 
— when the stifled cry of suffering and misery gives pain 
to the senses and the heart, let it ever be impressed upon 
the soul that there is a watchful, superintending and go- 
verning wisdom in the heavens above, whose radiance 
shall be felt and enjoyed in the world beneath. 

The spirits wish to mention, in this connection, the truth 
that the wisdom of the spirit is the characteristic and qual- 
ity of the developed soul. This wisdom is the policy which 
has no reference to the attainment of the things of earth — 
which has no relation to the gathering of transient treasures, 
and more than all this, which is the highest and noblest 
attribute of that Godlike being which basks beneath the 



SPIRITUAL WISDOM. 21 

refulgence of the Everlasting Throne. As, therefore, the 
spirit advances towards a more elevated and perfected 
state — as it moves onward through the attraction which it 
feels for the good and true — as it approaches nearer to that 
state of sublimation and refinement which forms the de- 
signed and approaching destiny of the human race, the 
wisdom which exalts, purifies and enlightens, shall be made 
the prominent quality of the spirit, and then, like a beau- 
tiful gem, shall it shine upon the brow of the aspiring angel 
who has escaped from the entanglements of flesh and 
sense, and soars upward to join his waiting kindred 
lingering far away in a higher Heaven. Thus there is a 
power in the wisdom of the spirit which is the power of 
the expanded and unfolded angel ; there is a power here, 
beneath which the monuments of human pride and igno- 
rance shall tremble and fall : there is a power here which 
shall penetrate to the holy sanctuary of the inmost heart, 
and shall reach far down to the foundations of prevailing- 
wrong — a power in which the holy and the pure shall 
find their refuge — in which the righteous and aspiring soul 
shall enjoy its sw T eetest bliss, but in which the tyrant and 
oppressor shall find the strength of spirits and the energy 
of God. 



LECTURE IV. 

NATURE OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT 

The world of mankind has no proper conception of the 
exaltation of the soul which dwells within the human 
frame. It has no realizing sense of the brightness and 
purity ot that interior spirit which is the image of the 
Presiding Mind. It has no just thought of the beauty of 
that inward mirror which reflects the countenance of Deity, 
and it has no philosophy by which the true nature of the 
human spirit may be determined. Therefore will the pre- 
sent writers unfold the subject which is indicated by the 
above title, in such a manner that the intrinsic purity and 
sacredness of the inward being will be fully and clearly 
perceived. The blessing of divine truth is the joy of an- 
gels, and the light of angelic wisdom is the joy of earth; 
so that, with the influx which descends from higher Spheres, 
and with the pure and holy joy which mortals receive 
through this influx, the spirits may make their appeal to 
the internal consciousness of individuals whom they ad- 
dress, as the only safe and reliable guide of human thought 
and action. 

It is a subject of peculiar difficulty with mortals, to as- 
certain the nature and qualities of that w T hich is beyond 
the sphere of sensuous observation. It is a matter of the 
deepest perplexity to conceive a proper and definite idea 
of that which cannot be seen, touched, and handled. It is 
a source of the most distressing embarrassment to endeavor to 
search after that which is not to be found in the ordinary 



NATURE OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT. 23 

way, which dwells far away in the recesses of the Uni- 
verse, and which has its being in the undiscovered realms 
of spiritual existence. When the mind searches for that 
which is thus beyond its reach, it becomes faint and weary 
because it can find no resting place on the plane of sen- 
suous being; it soars away into the heavens by the aid 
and strength of excited fancy, but returns with tired and 
drooping wing, and mourns that it is dark, and blind, and 
weak. But the freed and immortalized spirit which is 
disenthralled from the clogs of the earthly nature, has not 
the faintness and weariness of the earthly mind * but in 
the power of its own concentrated and united powers, it 
soars up far beyond the reach of the external sense — far 
up beyond the clouds of the lower world, gazing upon the 
bright realities which cluster around its rapid flight and fill 
the immensity into which it roams. Thus the spirit feels 
its freedom when released from the body ; it feels the power 
and energy which exist inherently in its nature, and which 
are the streams of the eternal well-spring that dwells with- 
in its depths; it realizes the divinity which is enstamped 
upon its being ; it feels the sweetness of its inward life ; 
and when called to search for the profound truths of Nature 
and of God, it goes forth in the strength of its own perfec- 
ted essence, with a consciousness of power which is sweet 
and thrilling beyond all expression. The freed spirit can 
analyze the essences and elements of which its own being 
is composed. It can perceive and comprehend the sub- 
stances of which its organization is formed, with the same 
ease and certainty that the learned and practiced physiol- 
ogist can determine the nature of the substances that 
compose the external body. Hence will the spirits which 
are engaged in writing the present Lecture, reveal the 



24 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

prominent qualities and essences which make up the spir 
itual organization, and which render the soul indestructible 
and immortal. 

The first essence w T hich should be noticed as forming the 
most external of the spiritual body, is Electricity. This 
constitutes the most material and outward clothing which 
it has to cover the more interior essences, and this is the 
element by which it becomes related, and continues to 
sustain a relation, to the outward world of matter. Elec- 
tricity may be defined as that substance which dwells 
beneath the visible substances of the earth, aud exists 
within the most subtle and refined fluids which animate 
the great world of matter. By electricity, as used with 
reference to the spiritual organization, the spirits do not 
signify that gross and unrefined fluid which pervades the 
mineral creation; neither do they refer to the more re- 
fined fluid which is the primary agent of motion in the 
vegetable and animal productions; but they signify by 
this term that fluid which represents the refinement and 
perfection of all these — which is the sublimated and ethe- 
rialized element which has been withdrawn from the grosser 
elements of matter, and which forms the agent of that god- 
like intelligence which resides in the human system. This 
is the fluid which, in the connection of soul and body, 
unites the spirit with the physical frame ; it is this which 
produces all motion in the body, and which comes in such 
intimate contact with the directing mind as to guide, con- 
trol, and regulate the movements of all its limbs. Therefore 
is this fluid the medium through which the spirit operates 
on the gross substances of its earthly organism, and by 
which it produces all those physical manifestations of its 
presence that are given in every action, gesture and ex- 



NATURE OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT. 25 

pression of the form. It is in this fluid that the spirit finds 
its power to operate in an outward manner: it is by this 
that it is enabled to assume its supremacy over the mate- 
rial compounds with which it is surrounded, and by this, 
also, that it gives a sensuous expression to all those beau- 
tiful thoughts and divine emotions which rise within its 
conscious heart. The fluid which is here denoted is ex- 
ceedingly powerful in its nature — powerful not as a material 
force, but as the agent of spiritual power — not as a mere 
operation of gross materials, but as the glorious working of 
a divine essence. Electricity, considered in this light, is 
the sublimated agent and medium of mind : it is the ex- 
ternal of the indwelling spirit which has no other power 
than its own inherent divinity; it is the sweet and purified 
substance which sustains the relations that this forms with 
the outward universe, and renders the unseen resident of 
the human frame the powerful soul of a weak and fading 
temple. Let it be impressed, therefore, that what has been 
termed and defined as electricity, is the outward body or 
clothing of the spirit, by which it becomes connected, and 
sustains its connection, with the material organism, and by 
which, also, it lives within its unilluminated abode as the 
supreme soul of a miniature creation. 

The next essence or element which may be mentioned 
as entering into the composition of the human spirit, is a 
fluid which is termed Magnetism. This essence is more 
refined than Electricity, and forms a more interior portion 
of the spirit. In nature it is the same as that which forms 
the external clothing of the internal organism ; but as to de 
gree of refinement, there is the same difference as exists 
between the higher and lower gradations of matter in the 
visible creation. Magnetism, in other words, is the refine- 



26 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

merit of electricity — which refinement is produced by the 
same eternal principle of motion which is the inherent and 
all-pervading law of existing substance. This essence, 
therefore, approaches nearer to the internal consciousness 
of spirit, and sustains a more close and intimate relation to 
the-germ of the inward life. Hence it will be seen that mag- 
netism forms the next higher and more interior grade of the 
spiritual being — this forming, while in its connection with 
the body, the agent by which sensation is produced in the 
human frame — the medium through which the intelligence 
which it receives is conveyed to the inner chambers of the 
soul, and by which the spirit is stimulated to thought and 
action through the impressions which are thus transmitted 
from the material world. This sublimated and etherial es- 
sence pervades every portion of the human body as the 
soul of the electrical element which constitutes the out- 
ward clothing of the spirit j and as the latter is the agent 
of motion, so the former is the medium of sensation — as 
the one is the connecting link between the spirit and the 
body, so the other is the communicating essence by which 
the internal germ of the Divinity may be united with the 
external garment. Thus, through the medium of this es- 
sence, the spirit, though enclosed as a prisoner within its 
material frame — though shut up as a captive in the prison 
of the body, may still receive intelligence from surround- 
ing objects, scenes and events, and may derive a sense of 
those beauties, glories, and harmonies which pervade the 
vast sanctuary of Nature. Hence the mind of the reader 
will be readily impressed with the fact that this essence, 
in the sublimated and perfected state in which it exists in 
the spiritual organism, constitutes the real and divine body 
of that immortal being which is enclosed within the per- 



NATURE OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT. 27 

ishing structure of man as its animating and never-fading 
life. 

If the conceptions of the soul can extend so far as the 
spirits have gone in their elucidation of the present subject, 
it may now descend still deeper into the mysteries of the 
immortal nature with which it is endowed. Down, far 
down in the almost inconceivable recesses of the spir- 
itual being, lies a spark — a spark of life — a spark of 
light — a spark of fire, which fell from the ever-burning 
and shining Throne of the Omnipotent ! This spark of 
life, and light, and fire, is the most interior germ of the 
human soul — it is the deathless, unfading, and eternal 
germ of thought, intelligence and consciousness. ■ It is this 
which renders man immortal; it is this which places him 
far above the wreck and desolation of surrounding matter, 
and it is this which constitutes the inexhaustible source of 
al] -expanding and endless life. In this, therefore, consists 
the real spiritual being; in this is represented the likeness 
of God ; in this is felt and known that deep well-spring of 
happiness and purity which only the immortals see. There- 
fore is the soul immortal because the heart which dwells 
within it is the spark of the divine essence which can 
never die — because the germ of ever-enduring life is im- 
planted in its inmost nature, and because the consciousness 
of the living and breathing spirit is the indwelling and 
eternalized production of the Supreme Mind. It will be 
seen, therefore, that the chief element and most prominent 
characteristic in the nature of the human spirit, is its immor- 
tality. High above all the changing materials of earth — 
up far above the occurrences of the earthly sphere, it dwells 
in the serene consciousness of its own endless being. The 
true evidence of immortality is the sense which the soul feels 



28 THE' SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

of this great reality. When all things fade and die in the 
realms of matter — when seasons come and go in their un- 
ceasing round — when the deep voice of autumn winds moans 
sadly over the falling leaves, and when the beautiful form 
which was an external representative of the divine soul, 
bows beneath the change which creeps over all fair and 
lovely things on earth — then may the spirit, retiring within its 
hallowed sanctuary, feel the evidence of its eternal being 
in the profound consciousness of indwelling life, which 
gushes up from the germ of the unseen, but immortal soul. 
This is an evidence which does not depend on the action 
of the external senses — which does not rest on the pres- 
ence of the testimony of the ancient saints — which is not 
dependent on the life or death of any individual, and which 
has no connection whatever with any established faith or 
dogma of the Church. In the last analysis of spirit, this 
is the nature of the being which is known by this term — 
the immortal and eternalized intelligence, w r hich is the 
individual form of that divine essence w T hich constitutes 
the breath of the Deity. Hence the foundation of a belief 
in spiritual existence beyond the grave, must be ultimately 
resolved into the interior consciousness which is felt by trie 
enlightened and perfected soul, of the immortal nature 
which it essentially possesses. Here is the true ground of 
a faith in this living truth ; but the world is not prepared to 
perceive this truth from evidence of this character, or 
rather it has not become sufficiently advanced to receive 
the most interior and satisfactory evidence of immortal 
being, which is found only in the depths of internal con- 
sciousness. Dwelling upon a material plane — living in 
the world of sense, and finding all its pleasure in the realms 
of matter, the soul has not been sufficiently expanded and 



NATURE OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT. 29 

illuminated to admit the sublime realization that the soul 
is immortal and can never die. This is an evidence which 
can only be received by that spirit which has outgrown the 
narrow garments of its earthly nature, and has entered 
upon a higher plane of advancement. The evidence on 
which the world has relied, has been of the most unsatis- 
factory nature. It has been an evidence which has rested 
upon the testimony of individuals who lived more than 
eighteen centuries ago — individuals whose characteristics 
and opportunities for observation are entirely unknown by 
the present generation; and it is on this evidence that 
the human mind has rested its faith in immortality — the 
richest and most priceless boon of the Creator, while it 
will not trust the reason and intuition which dwell within 
the soul to-day, because they do not speak with an audi- 
ble voice, and write in visible characters. The soul 
which has expanded itself beyond the limits of sect and 
creed — which has been enlightened with the wisdom of 
Heaven, and which is enabled to appreciate the real essence 
of the spiritual being, regards all wisdom of this nature, 
as worthless and unworthy of its own aspirations. It looks 
with pity on the weakness and materialism of those minds 
which depend on the sayings of ancient apostles for the 
greatest truth that was ever born on earth, while at the 
same time it laments the superstitious folly which leads 
such minds to reject what already dwells in their own 
being, for something which is entirely foreign and material 
in its character. 

The beauty of the soul is not seen by the world, became 
the world has not attained to that plane of being where 
this is visible; but the beauty of the soul is the beauty of 
Heaven, and the beauty of Heaven is the beauty of God, 



30 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

Thus the nature of the soul is light, and purity, and bliss. 
It is the light, and purity, and bliss of the Great Spirit, in 
a Jimited and finite degree, for it is this, and this only, in 
all the wide creation which bears the reflection of the 
Divinity — it is this and this only, among all other beings 
which presents a likeness and image of the Creator. What, 
then, is the nature of the human spirit but the nature of the 
all-pervading Soul ot Nature? — what is the nature of the 
human spirit but the miniature of the divine essence which 
dwells within the heart of the surrounding creation ? — what is 
the nature of the human spirit but the finite embodiment of 
those divine and unfading qualities which exist in the germ 
of endless life ? Then what shall be the conclusion to which 
the mind arrives in its investigation of this subject 1 Shall it 
not be that the spirit is, externally, electricity — that it it is, 
mediatorily, magnetism — thatitis, internally, the germ of 
unfaing intelligence — the spark of divine life? This con- 
clusion presents the true nature of spirit — so far as regards 
its actual and essential being; and it is a conclusion which 
is not contained in the records of the Primitive History, and 
has no reflection in the dogmas of the popular faith, — but 
nevertheless it is true according to the wisdom of the Hea- 
venly Spheres, and it is founded upon the unchanging 
teachings of that eternal volume which no mortal and no 
spirit can destroy. Therefore will the spirits proceed to 
elucidate a part of this subject which will be possessed of 
intrinsic value to every mind that is not bound by the 
shackles of bigotry and superstition. This theme relates 
to the situation and development of the immortal germ of 
the spirit in the human body. The question arises with 
many individuals as to the first primary introduction of 
this germ into existence, and the mode of its development 



NATURE OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT. 31 

in the physical frame. This question shall be answered 
by the writers of this book, so far as relates to the essential 
formation and development of that internal soul of spirit 
which is the source of its exhaustless life. 

In commencing this revealment, the spirits desire to 
remark that the beauty and perfection of the spirit itself 
depend upon the presence of the interior germ to which 
reference has been made. Without this the spirit would 
dissolve and die like the external body, because it is not 
the external elements of which it is composed that render 
it immortal, these elements having such an assimilation 
of nature with the surrounding materials of the Universe 
that they would be liable to become absorbed and swal- 
lowed up in the chaos ol the external world ; but it is the 
germ of purity — the spark of divine intelligence, which 
makes the immortality of the spirit, because these act as 
the magnet — the concentrated union of essence which 
attracts the remaining elements of the spiritual body into 
one perfect and individualized organism. In this germ is 
the assurance of endless being; in this is the seed whose 
indwelling essence is the attractive power which controls 
all mere external elements, and binds them together with 
a power which no outward force or change can separate. 
Therefore it is the germ of the soul which constitutes its 
endless being. It is thespark of the divine essences, which 
dwells in the human spirit in its concentrated form, that 
composes the deathless nature which is enstamped upon 
the living man. With this, therefore, the spirits desire to 
commence, in the elucidation of the important point which 
was previously introduced. They desire to say that the 
human being produces the corresponding type of its own 
nature, through the same principles of reproduction which 



32 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

are manifested in the animal and vegetable kingdoms. But 
in the human body, the refined essences of spirit have 
become concentrated and individualized by the constant 
operation of the lower forms of matter, and hence in this 
is presented a spirit which is organized on similar and 
corresponding principles to those which are exemplified in 
the outward organism. The germ of the spiritual being, 
let it be understood, is the most interior of the spirit itself, 
or, in other w r ords, the soul of the spirit ; and let it be also 
impressed that the beauty and illumination of the whole 
spirit depend upon the presence of this germ. From this 
truth it will be rendered clear to the mind of the reader 
that the perfection of the spirit implies the existence of 
the internal germ, as much as the perfection of the human 
structure depends upon the existence of the spirit. Hence 
it will be seen that, when the inherent qualities of the 
parent are transmitted to the offspring in the process of 
reproduction, the germ of the spirit becomes implanted 
as the seed of life — as the magnet which attracts all other 
elements which have an inherent affinity with this, — and 
thus acts as the central and controlling power by which the 
material elements are gathered so as to form the external 
body. The first attribute, element, or quality which is 
transmitted in the process of reproduction, is the interior 
germ of the spirit; it is this which constitutes the inward 
power which combines the elements that compose both 
the spirit and the body. When the germ of spirit has been 
transmitted and implanted, then this begins to attract and 
gather to itself the surrounding elements which have a kin- 
dred relation and character , even as the little seed implanted 
in the earth is expanded by the attraction of the materials 
which it gathers in the womb of earth. Then, after this 

#2 



NATURE OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT 33 

prDcess has been commenced, the more external form of 
the spirit begins to be created on the principle which has 
been explained, — magnetism makes the clothing of the 
inward germ, and electricity as a still grosser element forms 
the clothing of the magnetic essence, and thus, through 
these beautiful gradations, the entire spirit is at last formed 
within the exterior womb, and gradually attracts to itself 
those materials of a grosser nature which make up the 
body of the infant, and compose the shelter and tabernacle 
^or the undeveloped inhabitant of the earth. 

The process by which this result is attained, is of the most 
beautiful and interesting character. It is a process by 
which the divine essence which becomes concentrated and 
sublimated in the human frame, may become transmitted 
to another organization, and there unfolded into a form of 
perfect symmetry and eternal duration. It is a process by 
which a birth is given to the expanding properties of the 
ever-enduring soul, through the principles of generation 
and reproduction whose inferior similitudes are beheld in 
the surrounding creation. Therefore in this process shall 
the world see an evidence of the perfection of those divine 
laws, by which the likeness of God is impressed on count- 
less and ever-increasing forms, in whose bosom dwells the 
spark of the divine intelligence. But let the mind become 
still more expanded to receive the beautiful truth, that this 
germ of the divine essence can never be polluted or cor- 
rupted through any influence or under any circumstances. 
This is the unfading and imperishable creation of the 
Divine Mind; it is the exhaustless source of life, thought, 
and reason ; it is the fountain of the indwelling conscious- 
ness, and hence were this destroyed, or were it even polluted 
through any admixture of corrupting elements, this creation 



34 TILE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

would become marred — this source of inward life would 
become stagnant and dead ? and consciousness itself would 
be lost in the uncongenial mass of foreign materials. It 
is necessary, therefore, to maintain the identity of the 
spiritual being — to preserve that faculty of intelligence 
which is the essential element of consciousness, that the 
germ of the spirit should be kept pure, uncorrupted by any 
of the external influences which may be breathed around 
it, and unmarred by any of those unfavorable circumstan- 
ces which have served to degrade humanity. It should be 
remarked in this connection, that the germ of the soul may 
become dwarfed, suppressed and buried in its outward 
tabernacle ; it may become even almost extinguished by 
the predominance of the sensual nature, and lie in its gross 
frame as the feeble and flickering spark of the Divinity, 
but still this germ is pure — the spark is bright, and while 
the uncongenial influences of the world prevent the expan- 
sion to which it is destined in the future, it will dwell there 
amid all its surrounding corruptions, and repel from its 
nature those grosser elements for which it has no inherent 
affinity, thus remaining in itself the same deathless and 
eternal soul which was implanted by the Supreme Intelli- 
gence. Thus the divinity in man — the soul by which he 
is animated, and moved, and governed — the germ which 
is the production of the infinite Mind, remains eternally 
the same in its nature, changing only with respect to the 
degree of development to which it arrives at the various 
stages of its progress. In the individual who has been 
unfavorably organized and situated — in whom the animal 
nature predominates over the spiritual, there is seen to be 
but a comparatively small germ of spirit, and hence the 
qualities which belong to this germ are manifested in an 



NATURE OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT. 35 

imperfect degree. The spirits see that the germ here spo- 
ken of is ? in the case referred to, undeveloped — that it is 
unimproved and unexpanded with the light of love and 
truth ; but they see that, though the individual may be 
immersed in sin and crime — though he may be lost in the 
labyrinth of corruption, the soul by which the internal 
being is animated and illuminated continues pure in itself, 
and knows not the filth which is the attendant of lust and 
passion : — they see, in short, that what God has made pure 
and holy in its nature, can never be rendered impure and 
unholy by the existence of those elements with which it 
has no affinity, and with which, therefore, it cannot come 
in immediate contact. 

It will be perceived by the rational mind, from the course 
of reasoning which has been pursued, that the germ of the 
spirit is in its own nature pure, and that it cannot be cor- 
rupted by any foreign influence or perverting circumstances. 
This truth will reveal the nature of the spirit in its true 
light, and will unfold the true relation in which it stands 
to the Divinity. It has been affirmed by theologians that 
man is the child of God; but this has been presented sim- 
ply as a theological dogma, and not as a natural and philosoph- 
ical truth, and it has not, therefore, been regarded with that 
profound and zealizing reverence which it justly requires. 
If the Church could see the nature of spirit as this is seen 
in the spiritual world — could they see that the beauty and 
glory of the Supreme Soul are impressed upon it — could it 
see that the heavenly and immortal gifts of the Great Spirit 
are imparted to it as a natural and inherent birthright, and 
could it feel that God has respect for the child which has 
been created in his own likeness, — it would perceive that 
man can never, in any circumstance, or by any possibility, 



36 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

become totally depraved, but that the soul remains pure and 
uncorrupted amid the realm of sense, and that, though the 
waves of lust and passion may roll around, it stands like 
the rock in the ocean which is unharmed by the rising 
waters that flow against its eternal base. With the senti- 
ment, then, that the soul is pure — that it is created in the 
image and likeness of God, and is destined to endure through 
the rolling tide of ages, the mind may obtain some truthful 
conception of the nature of spirit. But this is not all. Not 
only does the soul possess the quality of incorruptibility, 
but it also possesses the quality of expansion. Through 
the long night of time the spirit may slumber in its gross 
and darkened tabernacle, but in the light which breaks 
upon the soul that is freed from its earthly fetters, shall it 
expand, and glow, and blossom like the rose. The little 
seed which is planted in the cold ground, at a season when 
there is no warmth or moisture to give life and unfolding 
to its powers, remains seemingly dead and inanimate in its 
dark home ; but when the warm breath of spring is breathed 
upon it ; when the gentle dew falls sweetly from the sky, 
and the cheering light penetrates to its cold bosom, then 
does it rise from its apparent lethargy, expand with the 
bloom of its inward energies, and produce fruit according 
to its inherent nature. So the spirit is imbedded in the 
body as a seed, which is the prophecy of a glorious expan- 
sion ; and though, while surrounded by the chilling and 
uncongenial influences of earth, it maybe prevented from 
attaining its proper state of development and progress, yet 
when it is released from all the perverting and crushing 
influences of earth, and is introduced into the light, and 
warmth, and beauty of the celestial home,then does it freshen 
and glow with its new-born joy, and then does it expand 



NATURE OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT. 37 

into the fullness and richness of the immortal flower. Hence 
while the apparent manifestations of spiritual life may be 
faint and imperfect — w T hile the evidence of the divine prin- 
ciple of the soul may be almost wanting, and the purity 
with which it is filled may be smothered and suppressed 
by the surrounding corruptions of earth, it does not follow that 
the internal germ is destroyed, neither is there any reason 
for supposing that this germ is stunted in such a manner 
that it will be afterwards prevented from expanding to its 
designed perfection. On the contrary, the soul lives within 
the frame not only as the incorruptible seed, but it dwells 
there as the expanding and progressive principle which 
reflects the glory of the Divinity, and is constantly unfold- 
ing towards the perfection which is manifested in his 
nature and being. The conclusion, therefore, to which the 
reader may arrive, is that the human spirit is progressive 
in its nature — that though this principle may be prevented 
from manifesting itself on earth, it will be fully and beauti- 
fully exemplified in those spheres of light where the glory of 
the Infinite is the eternal day, and night and darkness have 
fled forever. The clouds and shadows of the lower world, 
linger only for a season over the aspiring and thirsting soul; 
and ever, through all the gloom amid w^hich it gropes — 
through all the sin and corruption in which it seems to be 
immersed — through all the ignorance and error in which 
it is apparently lost, it still maintains that beautiful and 
perfect principle which is uncorrupted and incorruptible 
from its birth, and ever struggles with all the energy of its 
immortal nature for that expansion, exaltation, and freedom 
which it finds in the Celestial Spheres. It is a great thought 
which thus places the soul so high amid the works of God 
— a great thought which thus presents the truth that man 



38 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

on earth is the germ of the angel in Heaven — a great thought 
which acknowledges the principle of unceasing and never- 
ending progress — which follows the soul upward in its 
eternal flight, gazing as it were upon its ever-expanding 
brightness, and beauty, and glory, until it is apparently lost 
in the vortex of infinite and overpowering light which 
flows from the very heart of the Deity, and radiates through 
all the immeasurable Universe ! I And yet a thought so 
great as this is but the most simple truth — it is a truth 
which . constitutes a prominent principle of the divine 
economy — a truth which forms a basis for that vast temple 
of celestial wisdom into which the angels enter, and before 
whose altar they bow in worship. 

The spirits have thus endeavored to reveal the nature of 
the human spirit in relation to its external body, its inter- 
nal germ, and its inherent qualities. They feel that the 
subject is one of vast and inconceivable moment, and they 
have endeavored to present and unfold the truths to be re- 
vealed, in such a manner as to cause them to be food, and 
light, and strength to the inward man. They will now close 
this part of the present volume with the sentiment that, 
while the spirit is exalted, and holy, and divine — while it 
is incorruptible, and godlike, and immortal — while it basks 
beneath the light of Heaven, and lives with the ever-ra- 
diant smile of God, it has no reason to be moved by 
any sense of earthly pride, when it looks upward to the 
lofty heights of wisdom which are yet unattained, and feels 
that it has entered upon that course of endless advance- 
ment which can cease only with the flow of interminable 
ages. 



LECTURE V. 

AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE 

The subject of the authority ot the Bible is presented 
for investigation in this Lecture, not because it is possessed 
of that intrinsic importance which would demand a labored 
argument, but because it has been a subject which is made 
prominent and conspicuous through the force of human 
ignorance and bigotry. For long ages in the past, mankind 
have received the Bible with the most profound and solemn 
reverence. The}^ have looked upon it as a book which is 
intrinsically holy, every word and sentence of which are the 
result of a direct influx from the Divine Mind, and there- 
fore authoritative in the most literal and unlimited sense. 
So far has this reverence for the Bible extended, that indi- 
viduals, whose reason and judgment were not sufficiently 
blinded to receive all its teachings, have been denominated 
infidels and heretics, and have been treated as the vilest 
sinners, by those whose faith in the writings of this book 
has rendered them professedly holy. The Bible has thus 
been made the standard; immovable and fixed, for all 
thought and action, with reference to subjects of morals or 
religion. This has been regarded as the book which God 
has given to the world as an expression of his will, and as 
a revelation of the destiny which he has designed for his 
creatures. In this, it has been supposed, is contained the 
records of truth which are unmarred and unsullied by any 
admixture of earthly error, and have their original source 



40 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

in the great vortex of life and Jove, which exists in the in- 
conceivable depths of space. According to the profound, 
but bigoted emotions of the religionist in reference to this 
book, the minister of the temple has made this a basis for 
the delivery of lengthy sermons and tedious prayers ; and 
in correspondence with the commands which are here en- 
joined, the people attend to the external forms of worship, 
communion, and baptism, as the means of saving their 
souls from hell. The superstitions which belong to the 
past have thus been brought into the sphere of the present 
age, and the mass are willing to be bound and crushed by 
those burdening chains which have been placed upon the 
minds and hearts of all past generations. 

At a time when ignorance covered the earth as the clouds 
conceal the brightness of the sky — when the elements of 
the human soul were in a chaotic state, like those of the 
primitive materials of which the Universe was formed — 
when error, and bigotry, and superstition, were the natural 
results and concomitants of the low state of spiritual de- 
velopment, the reverence for the Bible, of which the spirits 
have spoken, had its origin and its birth. From this peri- 
od this reverence has grown stronger and deeper in its hold 
upon the general mind, as noxious plants in the cultivated 
garden will strike far down into the bosom of the earth 
when left uneradicated. In the natural increase of this 
reverence, men at last came to look upon the Bible in the 
light in which it is at present regarded ; and, while at first 
this was respected simply as a valuable collection of wise 
sayings and useful precepts, it was ultimately adored as 
the direct and inspired word of God, which could be nei- 
ther altered nor amended, without a commission of the 
unpardonable sin, and an extreme danger of being sub- 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 41 

jected to consuming fire. As a consequence of this view 
of the subject which has been gradually fastened upon the 
human mind, the Bible has been setup as an authority; — 
it has been appealed to as a true and reliable standard of 
thought on all subjects which pertain to the interests of man 
—and has been leaned upon as an infallible statement of truth 
which requires the most implicit and unreasoning confi- 
dence; in view of the most terrible penalty which is attached 
to a want of faith in its divine origin. Men, therefore, 
have repaired to this source for their instruction and direc- 
tion under all circumstances ; and so deep and fixed has 
been the reverence which this has inspired, that it has 
amounted to absolute idolatry, and has even superceded 
the reverence which should have been entertained for its 
supposed author. The world has leaned upon its Bible 
as the child clings to its toy. and has exercised as little wis 
dom in the maintenance of its claim as the child manifests 
in defense of his peculiar property. All other books which 
have ever been written — all other productions which have 
emanated from the most expanded and sublimated minds 
on earth, have been regarded as feeble and unimportant 
lights compared with this great central sun. Therefore 
have the bounds presented in the Bible been made to rep- 
resent the boundaries of human thought. 

As far as the teachings of this book extend or are sup- 
posed to extend on any subject, so far will the mind reach 
forth its thought and reason ; but the noblest, the most 
exalted and expanded faculties of the godlike soul have 
been cramped, bound, and chained by the imaginary lines 
of truth which are supposed to be established in the word 
of God! It is a scene which is lamented by the spirits — 
this blind and irrational reverence for an earthly book ; it 



42 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

is a scene which fills the bosoms of angels with sentiments 
of the most profound pity ; it is a scene which causes the 
spirits to labor with increased earnestness in the work of 
human emancipation, which deepens the sympathy which 
has flowed through all the courts of Heaven for the chil- 
dren of men, and which has strengthened the efforts that 
the hovering dwellers of the Second Sphere are now 
making for the elevation and reformation of the earthly 
world. The reverence for the Bible which has been the 
ruling sentiment of human hearts — which has cramped 
and restricted all the free and noble faculties of the soul, 
has had its sway upon the earth for ages past, and it is 
now time that this should be removed for the introduction 
of a principle which is more worthy of the dignity of man, 
and more consonant with the design of God. It has been 
seen by the inhabitants of the Spirit-world, that the author- 
ity of the Bible has been the chief and prominent source 
of all bigotry and superstition ; it has been seen that this 
has been the prolific fountain of all the sects and creeds 
which have cast their darkening shadow upon the face of 
humanity; it has been seen that this is the primary cause 
of all the narrow-mindedness, all the contraction of 
thought, and all the blind devotion to human systems of 
faith, which have been, and are still, conspicuous features 
of the world's history. The flowing stream of time rolls 
onward, bearing the truths and principles of other ages far 
away, that new truths and principles may be revealed which 
are in more perfect adaptation to the increased advance- 
ment of the race; and yet the bigoted and contracted soul 
clings, with childish and idolatrous worship,to the crumbling 
altars of the ancient error. Spirits see that the time is now 
approaching when this reverence will be done away — 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 43 

when the authority of the Bible will be no longer regarded 
as an external standard of thought, and when the gateway 
of Heaven shall not be closed by the darkness of human 
minds which are not willing to receive the truth. No effort 
of the theologian or religionist can prevent the approach of 
this period, for there is a power on high by which it shall 
be introduced that is far more mighty than the puny arm 
of man, or the stern command of his feeble will. • • 

Let those who still cling to the monuments of the past — 
who still build their faith upon the ancient structure — who 
still rely with unreasoning confidence on the authority of 
the book which is termed the Bible — let all such remem- 
ber that the decree has gone forth and cannot return that 
the external trust of the world shall be taken away, and 
that the blind faith of mortals shall be destroyed. This, 
let it be understood, is the work of divine wisdom and be- 
nevolence ; it is a work which has reference to the real 
and eternal interests of the earth-children ; it is a work 
which should excite the profound and unceasing gratitude 
of the human heart. What has been the influence of the 
reverence for the Bible which has been nourished in the 
earthly breast? What has been the real effect of the 
authority with which this book has been endowed ? The 
spirits have seen this influence and this effect, and they 
will answer the inquiry which they have made. They have 
seen that, through the devotion which has been paid to the 
supposed word of God, the reason of man has been left 
unexercised and unexpanded; they have seen that, from 
this cause, all the most exalted powers of the soul have 
remained weak and unimproved : and they have seen 
that, in consequence of a rigid adherence to the standard 
presented in the popular oracles of faith, the soul has been 



44 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

restricted to the narrow limits of creeds which bear no assim- 
ilation with the all-expanding truths of the Universe, and no 
relation to the bright realities of Heaven. Thus the influ- 
ence and effect which have flowed from the authority of the 
Bible have been of the most deleterious character, tending 
to degrade rather than to elevate, to confine rather than 
to expand, and to crush and destroy rather than to enno- 
ble and save. 

Viewing this influence and effect on the general mind, 
the spirits have decided to perform a work which has been 
prompted by the dictates of wisdom and benevolence — a 
work which shall result in the complete and final overthrow 
of all external standards of faith and worship — a work 
which shall bless humanity by causing the interior reason 
and intuition of the soul to become expanded, and a work 
which shall excite the joy and praise of the children of 
men, when they have attained to that condition of refine- 
ment and illumination where its importance can be clearly 
seen and appreciated. 

In order to accomplish the work which has been indica- 
ted in the preceding paragraph, it will be necessary to 
furnish instruction with relation to the authority of the Bible, 
which instruction should be of such a character as will be 
adapted to unfold the reasonableness and importance of the 
labor which is about to be performed on earth. The spirits 
would therefore speak in the outset of the real origin of 
the book which is reverenced as the word of God. It 
should be seriously and candidly inquired, whence came 
these writings which are termed the Bible ? — what is the 
real source from which the Scriptures emanated? — and 
the answer to these inquiries will naturally reveal the 
authority of the book referred to. 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 45 

Far back in the depths of humanity's history, there lived 
individuals who were morally and spiritually advanced 
beyond the medium development of the age in which they 
lived. These individuals, residing upon an elevated plane 
of thought, were enabled to hold communion with the 
spiritual beings which, in all past time, have been hovering 
in profound sympathy around the dwellers of this darkened 
planet. In consequence of this spiritual communion, 
w T hich resulted from the interior refinement and elevation 
to which they had attained, they manifested to the sur- 
rounding mass the evidences of a superior wisdom, and 
an unusual foresight of approaching events ; and since 
they themselves did not understand the cause or philosophy 
of these wonderful powers, they were content to yield to 
the superstitious sentiments of the people who regarded 
them as being directly and immediately inspired by the 
Divine Being. By the individuals who are here named? 
the spirits have reference to the persons who are mentioned 
in the writings of the old and new testaments, such for 
example as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Christ, Paul, and John. The*e 
persons were seers and prophets. In their systems dwelt 
that peculiar essence of spiritual life which prepared them 
for an intercourse with the dwellers of the Second Sphere - 
and, while they were unconscious of this truth, and knew 
not the source of their inspiration, they naturally ascribed 
the impressions which they received to the direct agency 
of the Supreme Being, and really imagined that they 
wrote and spoke as they were dictated by the Deity him- 
self. 

At this distant period, the nearness and influence of 
the spiritual world being entirely unknown, the spirits had 
as yet discovered no method bv which the reality of their 



46 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

presence might be demonstrated to mortals. Yet wher- 
ever there were minds which were sufficiently impressible, 
the spirits opened an intercourse with the world through 
this medium, and revealed those truths and principles 
that were adapted to the particular stage of progress to 
which the world had arrived at the period in which they 
were imparted. Thus the seers and prophets of the past, 
whose names are mentioned in the Primitive History, were 
mediums — mediums for impression and influx; and hence 
they were employed as the agents of the spiritual world 
which was then unrevealed, to elucidate and promulgate 
those truths which would be useful and appropriate at the 
time when they were given, and also those prophecies of 
approaching events which were important as the evidence 
of spiritual endowments on the part of the individuals by 
whom they were delivered. Such being the case, it may 
be easily conceived that the writings and sayings of the 
individuals to whom allusion has been made, would be nat- 
urally collected and preserved by the people, and handed 
down to successive generations as the infallible oracles of 
the Divinity. It was in this manner that the writings of the 
Bible which have been properly termed the Scriptures, 
were originated, and it was in this manner also that the 
authority with which they are now invested, primarily 
derived its being. Therefore will the spirits assure the 
world that the Bible is not the direct and infallible word 
of God — that it did not originate in the Divine Mind as 
its immediate source — that it was not the revelation of 
the Supreme Being as given under his own seal and signa- 
ture, but that it was and is the production of minds resi- 
ding in the body, which were impressed as clearly as 
existing conditions and influences would admit by the 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 47 

influx of thought from the spiritual world — which influx 
was received by the seers and prophets of the past as the 
direct inspiration of God. 

The spirits have thus related the origin of the Bible, and 
they have said what is true and wise. They have showed 
that this book is simply a collection of writings which were 
produced at different periods and by different individuals, 
and that these writings have been preserved and handed 
down to successive generations, through the influence of 
that servile reverence for authority which stills lingers in the 
human mind. From what has been already stated, it will 
appear, also, that the design of this book was far different 
from that which has been commonly supposed. Instead of 
being designed for the use of the world at large, it was 
designed simply for the particular class of individuals to 
which its several portions were addressed; and instead of 
being designed for the use of the world in all time, it has 
its special and legitimate application to the particular ages 
in which its different parts were written. The Bible there- 
fore should be regarded in the light of an ancient history 
— a history which can claim no reverence on account of 
its age, and which can be no more authoritative from its 
having passed through all the errors and corruptions of past 
generations. It should be known that even the primitive 
records have been so mutilated and defaced as scarcely to 
preserve their original identity : and though the spirits 
would claim the authorship of these records as they were 
primarily given to the world, yet in their present imperfect 
and corrupted condition, they would prefer to concede this 
claim to those who have acted in the capacity of transcri- 
bers and translators. Hence the spiritual origin which 
the Scriptures originally possessed, may be properly resolved 



48 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

into numan ignorance and misdirection ; for the spirits 
have more respect for the wisdom by which they are moved 
and governed, than to degrade it by any association with 
the idol of popular devotion. Accordingly, they would say 
to the inhabitants of earth that the darkness in which they 
have groped so long, shall be illuminated with heavenly 
light — that the corruptions which have been the result of 
bigotry and error shall be removed — that the partition 
walls which divide sect from sect, and which prevent the 
true expansion of the soul, shall be broken down, and that, 
from the summit of the great temple of spiritual truth, shall 
wave the banner of peace and freedom over all the homes 
of earth. 

Having determined the origin of the writings contained 
in the Primitive History, it will be easy to decide the real 
authority with which this is endowed. The truth will be 
at once discovered, that since this book, in its present form, 
was not derived from any higher source than the human 
mind, it cannot be possessed of any infallible authority 
on which the religionist can rely. Therefore the authority 
of the Bible will be placed upon the same ground as the 
authority of all other books ; — the authority with which it 
is invested will be determined by the amount and impor- 
tance of the truth which it contains, and the amount and 
importance of the truth which it contains must be decided 
by an unrestricted exercise of the reason and intuition of 
the soul. In this manner the external standard which men 
have erected crumbles in its own weakness, and the prop 
on which the mind has leaned so long is taken away, 
that it may stand and act by virtue of its own inherent 
powers. The Bible is to be regarded as a collection of 
ancient writings, which have the same intrinsic authority 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 49 

as the writings which are produced in the present age. If 
these are discovered to be truthful and important, then they 
have authority so far as that truthfulness and importance 
extend, and no farther ; but if, on the other hand, they are 
discovered to be imperfect and incorrect, then they have 
not authority to the degree in which this imperfection and 
incorrectness exist. As all works of the human mind are 
judged by the teachings of reason, so should the book 
which has been reverenced as the word of God, be subjec- 
ted to the same test, and tried by the same standard. 

" But," cries the religionist, "the authority which has 
been a source of faith and confidence in divine truth, will 
be thus taken away ; the mind will find no place of rest 
where it can repose in the conviction of the saving power 
of God." The spirits would answer to this objection that 
the authority which has been reverenced and leaned upon 
in the past, should be taken away — that the immortal 
mind should have no outward prop for its faith in God and 
truth — that it is unrighteous to allow the spiritual powers 
to remain dead and stagnant by leaning upon an outward 
standard of thought, and that the only method by which 
the energies of the inward being can be drawn forth and 
exercised, is to be found in the inherent attraction of the 
soul to that which is true, and in the indwelling conscious- 
ness of the spirit of the Divine love and protection. The 
spirits see that the soul which is created in the image of 
the Divinity, has powers which are independent of the 
testimony of individuals who lived eighteen centuries ago; 
they see that this divine and immortal being has an author- 
ity of its own — that it has an authority which never can 
be shaken, though all outward altars may dissolve, and all 
their pride and glory may pass away — that it has an authority 



50 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

which dwells in the sublime reason with which it is gifted, 
in the intuition which constitutes its interior perception, 
and in the consciousness of truth which is implanted within 
the germ of the inmost spirit. It is seen and known that 
this is the authority which man should ever seek — that 
this is the standard by which he should determine the truth 
which is contained within the lids of the Bible, as well as 
that which may be found in all other writings ; and it is 
seen that the authority of the Scriptures which, from the 
force of bigotry and misguided reverence, have been 
termed holy, is simply the authority with which all 
scriptures are invested, which contain truth of the same 
amount and importance. 

The inquiry may here arise, is there, then, no word of 
God? — is there no revelation of the Divine Mind? — and 
to this inquiry the writers of this volume answer in the 
affirmative. There is a word of God and a revelation of 
the Divine Mind. " Where are these to be found V 7 pursues 
the questioner. The spirits will answer. It is not in the 
revelations of spirits that the world can find any authority 
on which to rely as an external standard. These revela- 
tions are not presented as the infallible production of the 
Divine Mind, which are adapted to the state of the whole 
world and the developments of every age. Therefore the 
human soul will find here no opportunity for that inglo- 
rious ease which it seems to desire — it will find here 
no support for its external weakness, and no infallible 
guide for its misdirected powers. The revelations of 
spirits are designed to stimulate the native powers of 
the soul ; they are designed to impart an inward life 
and strength which it cannot gain from any other source, 
and they have a tendency to exercise the internal faculties 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 51 

in such a manner as to bring forth the beauty of the inward 
being. There is no authority in the whole spiritual universe 
which is designed to have the effect on the human mind 
which has been produced by the authority of the Bible; 
and hence while spirits will furnish those revelations which 
will make their appeal directly to the internal reason, in- 
tuition, and consciousness of the individuals addressed, 
they will not furnish a revelation which shall be treated with 
the blind and childish reverence that has been given to the 
ancient scriptures. 

But there is a revelation of the Divine Mind — there is 
a word of God, which is superior to all that finite minds 
can impart or conceive ; and this is a revelation which 
must be regarded with the reverence which is true and 
just; it is a revelation which will call forth the inherent 
energies of the soul in the direction of its Divine Author. 
The revelation to which the spirits here refer, is the Creation 
which has been introduced into being through the action 
of the Supreme Intelligence, — it is the Universe which 
is the natural and untranslated expression of the In- 
finite Mind. No rational individual can doubt that 
this is the real and infallible production of the Deity; 
and no mind which will exercise the powers of which 
it is possessed, can be disposed to deny that the scrip- 
tures of earth and heaven are the only true and direct 
revelation which has ever been given to his intelligent 
children. In the beautiful and sublime works which extend 
far away into the expanse of space, may be read the divine 
truths which dwell within each living form : and through the 
deep heart of existing things there gleams a light which 
flows from the very essence of the Deity, by which the 
essential principles which have an adaptation to the earthly 



52 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER 

mind, or which may be received by the sublimated angel, 
are easily and legitimately attained. Thus God is ever 
speaking to his children through the medium of the works 
which he has made. He is breathing in the light, the air, 
and the water — in all the myriad forms of life that swarm 
upon the earth, and in all the countless host of worlds that 
adorn the heavens — the essence of that love, and truth, and 
wisdom which ennoble and expand the spirit that receives. 
The spirits have thus answered the inquiry which was pro- 
posed; and in this answer will be found a truth which should 
be received into the inmost chambers of the mind, and al- 
lowed to perform its appropriate work of spiritual expansion. 
In the subject which has been presented in the preced- 
ing remarks, will be perceived the evidence of spiritual 
condescension. It is not an agreeable task to approach a 
work for which there is felt no indwelling affinity; and it 
is with a sense of repulsion that the writers of this Lec- 
ture have entered upon a theme, which they regard only in 
the light of an ancient superstition that needs to be re- 
moved. In an important sense, the theme is one which 
needs to be discussed and elucidated, because it is one 
which has been generally misconceived, and has been the 
source of error and folly on the part of men ; but it is a 
theme which is approachable simply from the love which 
the spirits feel for their earthly kindred, and not from any 
inherent attraction which it possesses. In conclusion they 
would remark, that they designed to speak plainly and 
boldly, but with the kindest feelings towards those whom 
they regard with unmingled sympathy; and they have 
only exposed the weakness and folly which they behold 
on earth, because it is only through such exposure that the 
evils lamented can be eradicated. 



LECTURE VI. 

THE HEAVEN OF THE SPIRIT. 

The spirits wish, in the present Lecture, to unfold the 
beauties and glories which pervade the celestial home. They 
desire to reveal as far as possible to the gross and darkened 
minds of mortals, the attractions which are visible and 
apparent in the Heaven of the spirit, that the inhabitants 
of earth may attain some feeble conception of the destiny 
which awaits them, in the change or birth which passes 
over the outward frame and gives to the spirit its longed 
and sighed for freedom. The truths which they desire to 
present have no assimilation with the groveling doctrines 
and theories of men ; nor do they correspond in all respects 
with the revelations of the seers who have illuminated 
the world with many truthful and important sayings. It 
will be the design of the present writers to reveal what is 
true and wise — to unfold the real reality, and not the ex- 
ternal representative — to speak of what they see, and feel, 
and realize to be the truth, independent of all previous 
revelations, and apart from all the erroneous and imperfect 
statements of former writings. It will be their object to 
present the subject to be discussed in a rational and philo- 
sophical light, and not, as it has been commonly presented, 
in the light of dark sayings and superstitious views. It 
will be the desire of the writers to reveal the living thoughts 
and the inexpressible happiness which dwell in the bosom 
of the redeemed spirit, and pervade the mansion which it 
inhabits. Therefore will thev commence the statements 



54 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

which they desire to make, by unfolding the truth that the 
Heaven of the spirit is the abode of the immortal being 
which is enshrined within the human frame — that this is 
the home for which this being is born on the earth, and the 
sphere to which it is destined in the future expansion 
which it will enjoy in the change from the mortal to the 
immortal, and from the scenes of decay and death to the 
realms of brightness and life. 

The Heaven of the spirit is the object and end of all 
human aspiration. This is the home where the poor and 
lonely pilgrim of time may find a dwelling-place — where 
the mariner on the ocean of life may find a safe retreat — 
where the lost wanderer may find a place of refuge — where 
the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest. 
Every human soul that dwells upon the earth or animates 
the human form, aspires to this state of rest and peace. In 
the deep thirstings of the inward being — in the desires, 
and hopes, and aspirations which gush up from the well- 
springs of the heavenly nature, there is a constant struggle 
and labor for the attainment of a higher condition and a 
more beautiful dwelling-place than are seen upon the earth 
Visions of bliss will haunt the soul, while slumber has 
wrapt the body in its dreamy folds, and a prophecy of 
gladdening joy will thrill through the deepest recesses of 
the heart, while yet this knows not the source from which 
it flows. The weeping mortals who linger beneath the 
wing of sorrow, are seeking the home where the tears are 
wiped from all faces ) aud the angels who hover in sym- 
pathy around them, rejoice to receive and welcome the 
incense of pure desire which thus rises from the germ of 
the soul. But the world has been sighing and thirsting for, 
what it knows not — for that which dwells beyond all the 



THE HEAVEN OF THE SPIRIT. 55 

most elevated thoughts of the religionist and theologian. 
It is seeking for a hidden treasure in the dark, and sees not 
the position which it occupies, or the nature which it pos- 
sesses. Hence the spirits desire to inform the world of that 
which it does not understand, and which it may not find in 
all the primitive records which it has become accustomed 
to regard with deepest reverence. They desire to speak 
of that which has lingered in the thoughts and dreams of 
men, and which has been only as the ideal vision which 
Fancy has reared upon an airy basis. It should be stated 
that the Heaven of the spirit is not the material heaven 
which has been imagined by the religionists of earth — 
that it is not the abode of slothful ease and inactivity which 
is the desire only of the material nature — that it has no 
correspondence with the mansions of the wealthy, the 
couch of the voluptuary, or the green fields in which the 
brute reposes. The abode which is here represented indi- 
cates the home of the active, energized and ever-aspiring 
soul ; it is a home where there is rest of a spiritual nature 
— rest which is independent of an ease of body, or a 
satiety of taste, but rest which frees the spirit from all the 
burdening shackles of the animal nature — which gives 
freedom from all bondage of sensual passion — which con- 
sists in the peaceful, yet heavenward flow of all the most 
interior thoughts, and which is enjoyed in the tranquil 
harmony that pervades the bosom of the immortal being, 
and lingers in all the atmosphere which it inhales. 

The spirits desire that this portion of the subject should 
be duly understood ; because it is necessary that the true 
object to be attained should be clearly revealed, in order 
that the inward aspirations may be righteously governed. 
The materialist who dreams of Heaven as a place where 



56 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER, 

he can feel the external pleasures which he enjoys on 
earth, should be informed that there is no abode in all the 
mansions of the Father where his dream will be realized ; 
and the sensualist who looks at the home of the spirit only 
as a place of ease — where the rivers of pleasure flow 
through all the expanding plains, and feasts of fat things 
are spread to allure the earthly taste, should distinctly un- 
derstand that he can never enter the home of the immortals, 
until he has become freed from the low desires and sensual 
feelings by which he is moved in his present state. Hea- 
ven, so far as regards the enjoyment which is received by 
the spirit, is no place, and hence it can never be enjoyed 
simply by rising a certain distance above the plane on 
which the earthly being gropes and grovels ; and though 
the home of the soul has reference to substance as well as 
condition, this can never be truly enjoyed — its beauties 
can never be fully realized, until the internal being is 
in harmony with the visible glory. Therefore is it impor- 
tant that this Heaven should be first regarded as a state, the 
true enjoyment of w T hich will depend upon the presence 
of certain qualities in the heart of the spirit. When viewed 
in this light, heaven may be enjoyed by the soul in the 
body, and while it remains within the sphere of earth, if 
the essential peace, and harmony, and happiness exist 
which constitute Heaven. It may be enjoyed by the pure 
in heart, and the blessed in spirit, of every age and name ; 
it may be felt by the exalted and tranquil soul, which gazes 
through all the overshadowing clouds towards the radiance 
of the unfolded sky* it may be felt in the chambers of 
that heart which can receive the truths that dwell in Na. 
ture, and the joys which flow down from Heaven. Thus 
in the attainment of the celestial abode, it is important as 



THE HEAVEN OF THE SPIRIT. 57 

the primary step to establish the kingdom of heaven in the 
inmost heart; and when this has been made the place and 
state of purity in the inward man, then can the individual 
by which it is possessed enjoy the blessings for which the 
spirit seeks and sighs, amid all the circumstances and influ- 
ences which surround the earthly sphere. Let it be impressed, 
therefore, that Heaven must first be introduced and estab- 
lished in the soul, before the superior beauties and glories 
of any locality could be properly appreciated, — because 
the sense of beauty dwells within, and if this is not suitably 
unfolded in the home where it can only dwell, then the 
attractions which exist everywhere in the surrounding Uni- 
verse, will entirely lose their power. 

"Rut though it is true, as has been stated, that Hea- 
ven must commence with the spirit itself and be made 
dependent upon no external conditions, yet it is true that 
the human spirit, when it leaves the outward tabernacle 
in which it primarily resides, is introduced into a Sphere 
which has a certain relation to the sphere of the earthly 
world, presenting the refinement, sublimation and perfec- 
tion of all the external beauties which are here visible, 
and breathing upon the senses of the spirit those elevating 
and congenial influences which are adapted to promote its 
growth and expansion. This Sphere is situated at a distance 
of about fifty miles above the surface of the earth. It is 
formed by the spiritual emanation which flows off from 
this planet and all the objects w T hich it contains, and pre- 
sents the out-birth or refined atmosphere of the lower 
world. Spirits see that the process by which this reality is 
formed is sublime and beautiful in the extreme, though it 
is difficult, in the present state of the human mind, to 
unfold this in such a manner as to render it fully compre- 



58 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER 

hensible. It should be known that there is both a material 
and a spiritual atmosphere, which flows off constantly from 
the surface of the earth j that the material atmosphere 
rises to the distance of fifty miles, at which point it ceases 
to ascend, on account of the attractive influence of the 
materials which exist upon the earth beneath, but that the 
spiritual atmosphere still continues to ascend from the force 
of the affinity which it has for the more refined regions of 
space — this therefore constituting the basis of the Spirit- 
world, which extends above the common atmosphere about 
fifty miles, or about one hundred miles above the earth. 
In this locality is presented the home of the spirit when 
it is released from the tenement of clay. To this home it 
ascends by the power of that attraction which is formed 
from the affinity that exists between the soul itself, and the 
elements of which its dwelling-place is composed. This 
is the real Heaven of the spirit ; this is the world of light, 
and joy, and rest; this is the home of the weary, the ref- 
uge of the w T andering, and the haven of the storm-tossed 
mariners of life. Above the clouds where the storms 
gather — above the darkness where the light is obscured, 
and above the corrupting streams of human passion, the 
spirit soars to the regions of unfading light and undisturbed 
harmony. The inhabitants of the earth may be assured 
that this Heaven of the spirit is the fulfilled prophecy of 
all the illuminated minds, whose thoughts and perceptions 
nave been turned to the brightness and beauty of the 
celestial abode. This is the sweetness of the air which 
the immortals breathe ; it is the undimmed radiance of 
the divine essence ; it is the living fragrance of eternal 
flowers which no storm or frost can wither. 

It is now the desire of the spirits to present some of the 



THE HEAVEN OF THE SPIRIT. 59 

external beauties of the heavenly mansion — to speak of 
some of the glories which gladden the hearts of the angels. 
They are aware of the difficulties and obstacles which lie 
in their way ; they fully comprehend the feebleness of the 
earthly mind which is not enlightened with the wisdom of 
Heaven, and they understand the want of a proper assimi- 
lation between the gross conceptions of the groveling 
multitude, and that purity which is the reflecting mirror of 
the Great Spirit. Still will they endeavor to delineate in 
the language of earth, the attractions of their glorious home. 
To commence the delineation, they would say that the 
beauties which are beheld in the external world, are simply 
representatives of the real reality — the shadows of the 
inward substance, which is alone divine and immortal. 
The human eye gazes upon the freshness and verdure of 
the spring-time, and rejoices in the beauty which covers 
the blooming fields, or gleams from the shining sky; but 
the eye rests only on the forms which fade and change 
beneath the cold wind and the angry storm. Therefore 
these are not the appropriate objects which the spirit seeks 
— they are not the fixed and unchanging realities on which 
the soul can rest with unfailing confidence ; but are simply 
the repesentatives of some more interior being which bears 
a relation to the undying soul. This interior being — this 
reality, is found in the Second Sphere, which has been 
termed the Heaven of the spirit. 

The objects which adorn the expanse of earth, contain 
an internal essence which, through the same principle by 
which the externa] atmosphere is evolved, rises to the 
height which has been referred to as the point at which 
the spiritual emanation commences its separate ascension, 
and thus extends through the surrounding atmosphere till 



60 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

it is born into the spiritual world. This process represents 
the manner in which the objects of the heavenly abode 
are created, and the real, intrinsic nature which they pos- 
sess. But the beauty which clothes and pervades every 
object that dwells upon the earth, is really unseen by 
the human eye, and the emanation which constantly flows 
from these, and which is born into the Second Sphere is 
likewise unperceived and unknown, excepting only by the 
disenthralled spirits which have arisen to their appropriate 
home. It should be known that the emanation which as- 
cends from the various substances of the earth, does not 
maintain in its ascension the precise form which it preserved 
in connection with the object in which it previously existed ; 
but it passes upward towards the Second Sphere as a 
lengthened atmosphere, whose inward beauty, brilliancy, 
and clearness no mortal can properly conceive. In this 
emanation which constitutes the external beauty of the 
heavenly abode, there exist the most beautiful and gor- 
geous hues, the most inexpressible radiance, and the most 
perfect transparency of which no substance on the earth is 
an appropriate symbol. The spirits can gaze upon this as 
it ascends from the earth, and watch its progress till it 
reaches and enters into the heavenly Sphere. They see 
that, when it issues from the material object and mingles 
with the external atmosphere, it is comparatively gross and 
unilluminated, but that as it advances upward and retreats 
from the unrefined materials with which it was connected, 
it becomes gradually purified, sublimated, and refined, so 
that, when it becomes the resident of the celestial home,, it 
is the perfected essence of all interior elements, and pre- 
sents the transcendent beauty in which the angels rejoice. 
It has been stated, and should be clearly understood, that 



THE HEAVEN OF THE SPIRIT 61 

the emanation to which reference is here made, does not, 
in its passage from the lower to the higher Sphere, pre- 
serve the precise form which it had while in connection 
with the material objects from which it ascends ; but it 
presents simply an interior and lengthened atmosphere of 
such objects, whose form is in precise correspondence with 
the nature of the substance from which it flows, and the 
force of the impelling power by which it is evolved. When, 
therefore, this emanation enters the spiritual world and be- 
comes a part of the etherial beauty which is here display- 
ed, it exists only as a beautiful and harmonious blending 
of the most clear, brilliant, and gorgeous hues, which, to 
some extent, resemble the colors of the rainbow, which is 
the refined emanation of the divided light. Therefore is 
it true, that, while the Spirit-home is filled and pervaded 
with outward beauties which are perceived by the senses 
of the spirit, these beauties are not presented as mere ex- 
ternal forms — as fixed and tangible substances, but they 
are revealed as the essence of all light and beauty — as 
the liquid sea in whose clear depths the purity of the in- 
dwelling germ of life is mirrored, and on whose bosom 
rests the reflected radiance of the overshadowing heavens. 
There are forms, but they have no definite outlines — there 
are groves, and vales, and streams, though these are not 
presented as the fixed and localized substances which 
dwell upon the earth, but rather as the mingling, blending, 
and harmonious emanation which is constantly flowing 
from these objects. Hence the spirits find no obstruction 
in any of the forms which exist in their illuminated abode ; 
th^y are not enclosed by any external lines or boundaries 
which might confine the movements of the material body, 
but they delight to bathe in the ocean of purity which sur- 



62 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER* 

rounds them — to bask in the cheering light by which they 
are warmed and strengthened, and to gratify that absorb- 
ing desire which is sometimes felt by the refined soul on 
earth, to mingle with the very essence of the glory which 
fills the earth and heavens. 

Therefore the delights and pleasures which the spirits 
enjoy, are perpetual and unceasing; they are the delights 
and pleasures which thrill through the breast of the im- 
mortal being in its elevated and sublimated home. The 
beauties and glories of the angel-world are the beauties 
and glories of the earth in their most interior, refined, and 
concentrated form; and if the human mind can conceive 
of the attractions which would be thus formed — if it can 
penetrate, even in imagination, the depths of the material 
Universe, and gain a perception, even though it be a shad- 
ow, of the interior essence of the Deity which here has its 
being, it may be prepared to appreciate, to some small ex- 
tent, the richness, the purity, and the perfection which 
these beauties and glories unceasingly display. All that 
the spirits can do, therefore, to present this subject clearly 
before the mind, is to elucidate the reality which they be- 
hold, by an appeal to the most interior sense of beauty, 
the most profound consciousness of the divine, and the 
brightest dreams of the immortal. This appeal can only 
be perceived and recognized by the spirit whose thoughts 
are elevated above the fading substances of earth, and 
whose affections are exalted to the realm of unfading light 
and love. The gross, the sensual, and the worldly, cannot 
receive an appeal which has relation to faculties which 
they do not possess ; such could never appreciate the 
beauty which does not consist in external proportions, or the 
glory which is not dependent on the splendors of human 



THE HEAVEN OF THE SPIRIT. 63 

art. It is. therefore, to the enlightened, the unfolded, and 
the educated soul — the soul in which the inward life has 
been born and nourished, that the spirits would make their 
appeal in the present Lecture: and this appeal they would 
have sink down into the most interior chambers of the 
mind and heart, that it may shadow there some faint re- 
flection of the inexpressible delight which enraptures the 
bosom of the immortals. 

The spirits have labored to present to the conceptions of 
the human mind, the external beauties which exist in their 
superior and perfected world. They would now speak 
briefly of some of the more internal joys which form the 
characteristic of their abode. As in the spirit itself there 
exist different grades of refinement, which represent so 
many steps towards the interior sanctuary ; so in the Hea- 
ven of the spirit, trysre are manifested similar gradations or 
steps towards the most interior reality, which are the ever^ 
increasing advances of all substance towards the great 
heart of Deity. Therefore, from the external beauties 
which gladden the senses of the spirit, there are still more 
real and substantial joys which result from the unseen, but 
divine and regenerating influence that descends from the 
circling Spheres on high. Retiring inwardly from the 
blending ocean of the most enrapturing glories, the spirits 
of this beautiful world enjoy the delight which mortals 
have never known, in the harmonizing and tranquilizing 
streams of love and truth, which flow down in unceasing 
currents from the inexhaustible Source of all life and be- 
ing. Thus ever, to the inhabitants of the Second Sphere, 
the more outward and superficial beauties are not the chief 
delight, but they are attracted to find their chief enjoyment 
in the discovery and application of important truths ; they 



64 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER 

are moved to search and analyze the principles of Nature, 
and to receive their bliss in that radiant light, and those 
harmonious voices, which have their origin in the unseen 
sanctuary of the Infinite. It will be seen from this state- 
ment that spirits are not idle — that they do not sink into 
inglorious rest, simply because their desire for beauty has 
been gratified, but that, having attained to the inward and 
unchanging rest of harmony which they feel in all condi- 
tions, they are moved to exercise the sublime and godlike 
powers which have their being in the inmost germ of the 
soul, and which exalt and expand at the same time that 
they enrapture and rejoice the spirit. This point should 
be kept prominently in mind, because it is important that 
men should understand that the true Heaven of the spirit 
is to be attained only through action — not an action of the 
physical powers or material senses, but tn exercise of those 
native energies which belong to the immortal being. The 
Heaven which is enjoyed by the freed soul, can never be 
entered through either the preaching of man or grace of 
God ; but it is to be reached and enjoyed through the nat- 
ural and beautiful unfolding to w T hich the spiritual nature 
is subjected, which unfolding results in the perfection and 
refinement of all the powers and gifts with which it is en- 
dowed, and thus secures the internal happiness and peace 
for which man is unceasingly laboring. 

In the foregoing remarks, the spirits have spoken to 
some extent of the occupation and condition of the celes- 
tial inhabitants. They desire to present a still more lucid 
and satisfactory revealment with reference to this part of 
the present subject. To do this, they would state that ev- 
ery individual spirit has his appropriate sphere of action, 
or in other words, to use the language of earth, his em- 



THE HEAVEN OF THE SPIRIT. 65 

ployment. The sphere of action or employment which is 
appointed for any spirit, is determined by his own inherent 
qualities, the degree of development attained, and the par- 
ticular Circle of which he is a member. And here it may 
be remarked, because it will be understood by the general 
mind, that the particular employment which an individual 
followed while on the earth, from the motive of taste and 
inclination, will be the employment, in a corresponding 
sense, which he will pursue in the heavenly world. That 
is, the sphere of action which formed the realm of thought, 
taste, and feeling on the earth, and which, also, determin- 
ed the real capacities and qualities of the soul, will be the 
appropriate sphere of action into which the spirit will be 
introduced on its entrance into the sanctuary of the Celes- 
tial Heaven. For example, if an individual in the sphere 
of earth has been inherently attracted to the study of sci- 
entific principles — if he was actuated from taste and in- 
clination to make discoveries in the realms of philosophical 
truth, he would possess the same motive and desire on his 
birth into the spiritual world, with the qualification that 
this motive and desire would be far more sublimated and 
spiritualized than they could have been in the primary 
sphere, and are naturally directed to the investigation of 
higher and more interior realities than can be discerned by 
the external reason. The same or corresponding remarks 
are applicable to all the various tastes and inclinations of 
the earthly mind — they will find their appropriate sphere 
in the realm where the highest and holiest thoughts are 
, caused to absorb all those which are more low and gro- 
1 veling. With the sentiment, therefore, that the Heaven of 
the spirit is one of beauty, action, and progression, let the 
mind be actuated by the righteous desire to expand the 



66 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

internal powers, to elevate the inherent desires, and to pu- 
rify the indwelling affections, knowing that the true sense 
of happiness is not the enjoyment of outward pleasures — 
not the visions of fading loveliness, nor the voices of the 
perishing body, but that this consists in the profound 
consciousness of interior life — the realization of the in- 
ward divinity, which dwells in the bosom of every created 
soul. 



LECTURE VII. 

CIRCLES OF THE SECOND SPHERE. 

Among the numerous subjects which are presented for 
contemplation, the theme which is indicated in the above 
title is one of the most interesting and important. Those 
individuals in whom a desire has been created to learn the 
wisdom of Heaven, will naturally make inquiry with rela- 
tion to the characteristics of the Second Sphere. They 
will seek to be informed in reference to the condition of 
the departed spirit, the degrees of happiness which are 
attained in the celestial world, and the principle of pro- 
gressive development to which its inhabitants are subjected. 
The spirits have a desire to gratify the wishes of such 
individuals, and to reply to the inquiries which are natu- 
rally made on this subject; and for this purpose they will 
proceed to furnish an explanation of the several stages of 
progress, which are manifested in the Sphere in which the 
writers of this volume now dwell. 

It is the desire of the spirits to announce at the com- 
mencement! that there are in the spiritual world seven 
general Spheres of refinement, and that these spheres con- 
tain separately twelve Circles — which circles are simply 
the gathering of those spirits which feel an affinity for each 
other, being situated upon nearly the same plane of devel- 
opment. These circles have the light of the great central 
Sun which is located in the vortex of the Universe, and 
are all illuminated, to a greater or less extent, by the radi 
ance of the divine essence which pervades the most interior 



68 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

portions of all matter. Furthermore these circles are the 
representatives of different degrees of development, and are 
the associated and united throng of those kindred beings 
who have attained to a corresponding sphere of thought 
and feeling. Therefore are these circles the repository of 
the wisdom which has been attained in the progress of the 
spirit, and are the beautiful congregation of united souls 
in the bonds of peace and harmony. It is the desire 
of the spirits that the truth on this subject should be 
known to the world ; and it is for the purpose of ex- 
pressing the truth that they have introduced the sub- 
ject to the mind of the reader. Let it be known, then, in 
the first place, that the circles of the Second Sphere are 
simply the congregation and union of those spirits who 
have attained to the same, or nearly the same, state of 
progress and development. This truth will prepare the 
way for another which is more important, which truth refers 
to the state of the different circles of this Sphere with respect 
to the happiness and wisdom which they attain. 

To place this truth before the mind of the reader in its 
true light, it will be necessary to refer to the fact that there 
are also corresponding circles in the sphere of earth, which 
extend as far as the sixth circle of the Second Sphere. 
What is signified by this remark is simply that there are 
individuals on the earth who exist in the several circles or 
states of development which are here mentioned. For 
example, there are some men who reside upon the lowest 
plane of development, and are, therefore, members of 
the first circle ; there are other persons who are some- 
what more elevated and refined, and consequently belong 
to the second circle ; and thus there are individuals in the 
primary sphere who occupy positions in the six circles 



CIRCLES OF THE SECOND SPHERE. 69 

which belong to earth, each individual having that place 
which corresponds with his state of moral and spiritual 
development. The difference which is observable be- 
tween the circles of the earth and those of the Second 
Sphere, consists in the fact that the former do not exist 
as distinct and organized societies, but as diffused and 
intermingled elements, which are as yet in a chaotic state, 
not having found their appropriate position ; while, on the 
other hand, the circles of the Second Sphere do exist as 
distinct and definite societies, these being organized by 
the power of an internal affinity which can never be de- 
stroyed. In this statement it will be seen that the corres- 
pondence between the circles of earth and Heaven, is 
perfect in one sense, but imperfect in another. To the 
vision of the spirits there are really six general circles on 
the earth, which are representatives of so many different 
stages of development, and it is a matter of no difficulty 
with them to perceive the true position which every indi- 
vidual occupies, and the precise locality to which he will 
ascend on his departure from the sphere below. Hence 
the spirits are now prepared to proceed with the elucida- 
tion of the truth which they have commenced to unfold. 

The individuals who reside in the first circle on the 
earth, will, on their entrance into the Second Sphere, become 
members of a corresponding circle here. They will rise 
to that position with respect to the earth, which will be 
indicated by their interior refinement ; and they will enter 
into that association ot spiritual beings which will naturally 
be deteimined by the affinity which they feel within them, 
as the results of a certain degree of spiritual unfolding 
Therefore the individuals who reside in the first circle 
upon the earth will ascend to the first circle of the Second 



70 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

Sphere, because it will be here that they will be located 
by the inherent affinity which dwells within the soul, and 
which no power in heaven can destroy. The same re- 
marks will apply in a corresponding sense to the individ- 
uals who are members of other circles on the earth; they 
will ascend to such a circle in the Second Sphere as will 
correspond precisely with the circle to which they belonged 
on earth. When an individual on the earth departs from 
the form, or, in other words, when the spirit becomes re- 
leased from its earthly frame-work, it is attended by the 
representative spirits of the circle to which it will ascend, 
and is welcomed with the greatest conceivable joy. As 
the spirit leaves its perishing form, the waiting spirits re- 
ceive it to their embrace, and tenderly, when the process 
of birth has been completed, do they bear it awa}' to the 
circle of which it is naturally a member. If the spirit 
during its residence in the body has been undeveloped, if 
it has not been unfolded by the congenial influences of 
love and truth, then will it be borne to that circle which 
represents that plane of development to which it will 
naturally be attracted; and in this circle it will have pre- 
cisely the same wisdom — no more, and no less — as it has 
attained in its primary sphere, or, at least, this will be the 
case until that period has arrived when the spirit has be- 
come fully concentrated, and is prepared to unfold with an 
increased rapidity. Thus if an individual is undeveloped 
on the earth, he will be undeveloped in the Second Sphere; 
if he has left the highest and noblest powers of his being in a 
state of lethargy while in the body, he will suffer the want of 
those powers when he has become a spirit. This is a truth 
which is known as an established reality in this Sphere, and 
which all the theories and doctrines of earth cannot destroy. 



CIRCLES OF THE SECOND SPHERE. 71 

When the spirit becomes fully individualized, it has a 
perception of the beauties and glories which abound in the 
sphere of the soul, and which are the shadows of the 
Divine presence which expands through all the courts of 
Heaven. But though the interior vision is unfolded, though 
the immortalized being is enabled to perceive the external 
glories which exist around him in all surrounding space, 
yet trie appreciation which he has of what he may be able 
to perceive, will be always in precise accordance with the 
state of interior development to which he has arrived, and 
he will not be able to enjoy any more of these glories than 
he can receive into the bosom of his inmost soul. There- 
fore it is true that while the beauties of the Second Sphere 
are opened to the vision of all the circles of which it is 
composed, yet the degree of enjoyment which these beau- 
ties will impart, will be in precise correspondence with the 
degree of interior unfolding to which the spirit has attained. 
Those spirits who reside on the lowest plane of develop- 
ment, enjoy but a small part of the beauties which they 
are enabled to perceive around, even as the gross and sen- 
sual on the earth do not and cannot realize the glories 
which pervade the earth and heavens. But those spirits 
who have ascended to a higher plane of development, 
who have become the members of a higher circle of wis- 
dom, are able to enjoy a greater portion of the celestial 
beauties which they behold, because they are capable of 
receiving these beauties into the depths of the soul, where 
they flow as streams of ever-increasing peace. From this 
truth will be seen a prevailing characteristic which belongs 
to all the circles of the Second Sphere. The degree of 
happiness, which is enjoyed from external scenes must be 
proportionate to the state of the interior soul. 



72 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

Many dwellers of the Second Sphere desire to present 
another truth, which it is important should be understood 
by the inhabitants of the earth. This truth is, that the 
spirits of the circles in this Sphere are enabled to perceive 
and realize the presence of all other spirits in the same 
sphere. The highest and most advanced spirits of the 
loftiest circles of wisdom, are enabled to behold those 
spirits who are the members of the lowest society in the 
lowest circle. Thus there is a perfect bond of union be- 
tween all spirits in the Second Sphere with respect to the 
knowledge which is possessed of each other, and the 
understanding which is obtained of the interior qualities 
of the soul. Every spirit in all circles manifests the pre- 
cise character of his interior mind, and it would be per- 
fectly in vain for any spirit to attempt to hide what can- 
not be concealed. Hence all the thoughts, feelings and 
emotions of the interior soul, are at once discovered and 
understood by all spirits whose attention may be attracted 
in this direction. The inhabitants of this sphere stand as 
before a sun, whose light penetrates to the deepest thought; 
and all are unmasked and revealed before the gaze of a 
million eyes. When, therefore, the interior of any spirit 
is comparatively dark and unilluminated, this is discovered 
by those who dwell upon a higher plane of development, 
and is revealed to the individual who is thus degraded. 
The sense of this perception on the part of more advanced 
spirits, serves to fill the undeveloped soul with the most 
profound humility, and at the same time has a tendency 
to inspire the most fervent desire to ascend to a more lofty 
and beautiful sphere of thought, and to become a member 
of those higher circles of wisdom, beneath whose pene- 
trating vision he now quails with fear. Then into the 



CIRCLES OF THE SECOND SPHERE. 73 

deepest bosom of the undeveloped spirit there flows a 
sweet and tranquil light, which seems like the very ele- 
ment of life itself, so exhilarating, and yet so tranquilizing 
is its bieath; and as this light sinks far down into the re- 
cesses of the heart, and expands its influence through all 
the interior avenues of the inward being, the germ ot the 
soul begins to unfold and awaken from its slumber, and 
the purity which is here impressed upon the spirit is thus 
brought forth to the most glorious perfection. The spirits 
have seen that this process has a perfect analogy with that 
by which the flower is unfolded, through the influence of 
the light and dew ; for when the rose has been confined in 
the cold and darkness of a dungeon, it ceases to expand 
its internal properties, but when it is brought forth into the 
cheering light, and feels the breath of the distilling dew, 
it opens its petals to the irresistible attraction, and unfolds 
in all the freshness and beauty of its summer birth. But 
the spirit, unlike the flower, which is developed in the 
light and withers beneath the frost, is not affected by any 
of the chilling influences which are felt upon the earth, 
but it continues to expand, and grows fresher and brighter 
at every stage of it3 advancement, through the flowing 
years of eternity. 

The spirits see that this truth will appropriately introduce 
still another, which is possessed of intrinsic importance. 
They see that the beauty of the spirit depends upon its 
interior unfolding ; they see that the brightness to which 
it attains, is entirely proportionate to the degree of develop- 
ment to which it has advanced. No spirit can by any pos- 
sibility put on any external appearance which does not 
correspond with the interior reality, for every spirit will 
manifest just that degree of transparency and brightness 



74 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

which is the natural outbirth of its internal condition. 
Consequently, there is no external cloak of hypocrisy 
which can hide the deformity of the soul ; but the external 
appearance is in all cases the correct and infallible repre- 
sentative of the interior reality. Accordingly one spirit 
can in no case deceive another with regard to the position 
which he naturally occupies ; for the degree of brightness 
and purity which is manifested, even in the external cloth- 
ing of the spiritual form, is the standard by which this 
position may be at once decided Hence there can be no 
arbitrary selection or election of the members which com- 
pose any circle, for the degree of interior development, 
which is always clearly apparent, will be the unfailing 
criterion by which these members are selected. As an in- 
ference from this statement, it will be seen that the circles 
of the Second Sphere must be necessarily in a state of 
concord and harmony, being composed, as they are, of 
those spirits which have arrived to the same degree of de- 
velopment, and are therefore situated upon the same plane 
of beng. It is a consoling truth, therefore, that there can 
be no war, discord, or inharmony in the Second Sphere, 
and that the implements of destruction have here no ex- 
istence, because the occasion for their use has passed 
away. The. spirits express this truth, for the reason that 
they desire to elucidate the superior position which they 
occupy with respect to the dwellers of the earth, and be- 
cause they wish to present an attractive condition towards 
which the aspirations of the earthly may be directed. 

In this connection it should be stated that every circle 
of the Second Sphere has its appropriate mission or em- 
ployment, and that this mission and employment are made 
to correspond to the prevailing qualities of the spirits of 



CIRCLES OF THE SECOND SPHERE. 75 

which the different circles are composed. There is no 
compulsion or force required to direct the movements of 
any circle, or any of its members. There is no external or 
arbitrary authority which is essential to the suitable exer- 
cise of the inward powers, but all spirits have an irresist- 
able attraction towards that mission and that employment 
which are adapted to their interior state and capacity. — so 
that from the ties of affinity, from the impulses of a special 
and all-powerful attraction, the soul flows forth into the 
works of harmony and development, which aie presented 
as the appropriate labor to be performed. Thus in the 
sweet and internal flowing of pure desires, in the deep and 
indwelling conviction of truth and duty, and in the strong 
and irresistible attraction of a deathless love, the spirits of 
all circles enter upon their suitable mission, and perform 
the work which is given them to do. Then as to the re- 
wards of the labor in which the dwellers of the Second 
Sphere engage, they find the recompense which is not 
sought, but which, for this reason, is the more delightful. 
They are visited by those sweet breathings of peace and 
joy — those internal influences of celestial happiness, 
which are the legitimate fruits of the harmonious exercise 
of the spiritual powers. The soul, therefore, requires no 
external recompense ; it works not for hire like the labor- 
ers of earth, but it goes forth upon its mission with the 
holiest desires and the most ardent affections, and receives 
into its bosom the same purity and love which it labors to 
diffuse among those who are destitute of these heavenly 
qualities. Therefore the conception which supposes that 
the spirit on the earth must labor for salvation in the next 
world, as an extraneous reward for such labor, is seen to 
be gross and repelling in the extreme j for it is known in 



76 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

Heaven that the beauty of the mission which every spirit 
has to fulfill consists in the free and outflowing love with 
which it is performed, and that the dignity of every labor 
which may be imposed upon any circle, is the disin- 
terestedness and benevolence with which it is carried on. 

It is true, and the fact should be here stated, that the 
circles of the Second Sphere are subjected to certain laws, 
that they have a certain form of government, and that they 
have certain officers which represent superior dignities and 
stations ; but what is signified by this is simply that all circles 
have such laws, and forms of government, and dignitaries, 
as correspond with the position which they occupy in the 
several stages of development ; or, in other words, that the 
spirits of every circle have an understanding among them- 
selves with relation to certain courses of action, and also 
with regard to the regulations by which they shall be gov- 
erned — which understanding is based on the universal 
law of affinity to which all spirits in all Spheres are sub- 
jected. When, therefore, it is seen in the wisdom of any 
circle, that a certain work should be performed, there is 
formed immediately an attraction for the work presented ; 
and in accordance with this attraction, there is at once a 
general and united movement towards the accomplishment 
of the object which has been decided to be wise and good, 
each spirit naturally falling into precisely that position for 
which he has an attraction, and fulfilling just that office 
for which he is adapted by virtue of the internal qualities 
of which his nature is possessed. 

To illustrate this point, the spirits will refer to the design 
which was formed by the Sixth Circle, to write the present 
volume through the medium who is here employed. When 
this design had been fully formed and was decided to be 



CIRCLES OF THE SECOND SPHERE. 77 

wise by the entire circle ; then the part of the labor which 
should be assigned to each individual was immediately 
perceived, and when perceived, was welcomed by the im- 
pulse of the interior attraction which was naturally and 
instantaneously created. The spirit who was best adapted 
to this purpose, approached the medium whose hand and 
arm were to be employed, at a distance of about two miles 
from the earth : then he breathes out the spiritual atmos- 
phere which he inhales towards the individual who now 
writes, and in this manner causes a complete chain of 
spiritual substance to be established between the directing 
spirit and the system of the medium, by which chain a 
perfect connection is formed from the one to the other, so 
that the hand and arm are moved by the will of the spirit, 
while at the same time the mind of the medium is entire- 
ly passive. Thus the process by which this work is per- 
formed, is one which is sublimely simple in its nature, and 
yet one which illustrates, in a clear and forcible manner, 
the regulations which are established for the government 
of spirits ; for no spirit which was not fully adapted to 
this work, could have either the desire or the power to su- 
perintend this process, or produce the movement which is 
necessary to its successful accomplishment. To continue 
the illustration which the spirits are here offering, it may 
be stated that all other portions of the work which is con- 
nected with the process of writing, are performed by those 
spirits who are particularly adapted to the sphere in which 
they are placed. The labor is divided in such a manner 
that it is exceedingly easy and agreeable to all who are 
engaged in its performance ; and so great are the union and 
harmony with which every thought are action and made 
manifest, that the efforts of all are directed towards one 



78 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

common end and tend to produce one important result. 
Thus the spirits all have a mission to perform; and the 
regulations by which the particular offices of all are de- 
termined, are as precise and definite as the law of affinity- 
can render them, and as binding and powerful as the in- 
herent ties of spiritual attraction. 

The object of the present writers will now be to present 
an analysis and classification of the several circles of the 
Second Sphere, w^ith reference to the particular qualities 
and degrees of development which are here manifested. 
They would, in the first place, speak of the lowest circle 
of the Second Sphere which corresponds with the first 
circle in the sphere of earth. This circle, to the vision of 
the writers, appears exceedingly dark and unilluminated. 
It is the gross and imperfect development of spiritual 
forms, which is repelling to the more sublimated spirits 
which bask in the light of the celestial sun. The state in 
which they exist is a state of extreme imperfection — it is 
a state which corresponds with the lowest sphere of devel- 
opment on the earth, and w r hich presents all the angular 
and inharmonious movements which result from a partial 
unfolding of the interior germ. In the circle which is here 
referred to, the manifestations of spiritual life are feeble 
and imperfect — there seems to be only a flickering spark 
of vitality by which the outer elements of the spirit may 
be preserved in their appropriate relations. From the pre- 
dominance of the earthly over the spiritual nature while 
upon the earth, the soul has become dwarfed and stunted 
in its growth ; it has been prevented from expanding in 
the strength and beauty of the angel, and has been left to 
become almost swallowed up in the mass of darkness and 
corruption by which it was surrounded. Spirits have seen 



CIRCLES OF THE SECOND SPHERE. 79 

that the dwellers of the first circle in the Second Sphere 
are not wicked or intrinsically evil ; but they see that the 
germ whose expanssion would render them bright and pure, 
is not unfolded, and that ; as a natural consequence, this 
remains in a state of comparative gloom until they are per- 
vaded with the elevating and tranquilizing influences 
which descend from higher circles. It is unrighteous to 
call that which is not developed in wisdom, evil, and there- 
fore, though the movements of the spirits in the first circle 
are angular and imperfect, and though they are not in all 
cases under the guidance of superior wisdom, it is good to 
believe that they are subject to the same law of progress- 
ion by which even the grossest forms in Nature are perfec- 
ted, and by which they will be attracted to a more illumi- 
nated sphere, where the brightness and purity of their 
interior nature shall be clearly developed. 

Next to the first or lowest circle of the Second Sphere, 
may be properly noticed the Second Circle. In this is 
manifested the next step in the pathway of progression to 
that which has been previously considered. The germ of 
the soul in this circle begins to expand beneath the light 
and warmth of the heavenly sun. This circle is the circle 
of love, in which the first buddings of the inward soul are 
seen to spring forth from the sanctuary of the unseen flow- 
er whose bloom and fragrance are eternal. The members 
of this circle are the unfolding germs of a higher spiritual 
creation — they are the feeble and imperfect manifestations 
of the divine love which is the attractive magnet of all 
human souls. Brighter grows the light which is received 
into the bosom of these spirits, and beneath its genial and 
irresistible influence they expand towards the bright and 
overpowering sun from which it flows. The heaven of 



80 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

these undeveloped but developing beings is the heaven 
where the soul delights to exercise its inherent affections, 
and to manifest its active and profound sympathies towards 
those who are depressed and suffering. When the kindred 
whom they have left on earth are in perplexity and doubt 
— when they are suffering beneath the sorrows and evils 
of the world, these sympathizing and loving spirits hover 
unceasingly around their homes, and impart to them the 
influence of their heart-felt affection. But in them the 
principle of wisdom is not developed ; they are not unfolded 
in a knowledge of the truths and principles which pervade 
the glorious mansions of God, and are not, therefore, prepared 
to impart instruction on any subject that pertains to the wel- 
fare of the race. In respect to the course which should be pur- 
sued for the enlightenment and redemption of the world, they 
are entirely unprepared to furnish any definite or reliable 
information. The spirits see that the circle of which men- 
tion is here made, is possessed of benevolent feelings and 
is moved by the impulses of love, but that it is not guided 
and regulated by the dictates of wisdom. Accordingly the 
communications which are received from this circle are 
characterized by the predominant affections which have 
been most fully expanded, and do not present a source of 
wise and useful instruction by which the mind may be el- 
evated or the heart improved. Therefore it is not wise for 
the inhabitants of the earth to seek wisdom from a source 
where it does not exist, or to ask information, as many per- 
sons do, from spirits by whom this cannot be furnished * 
and it is well to note that the spirits of the Second Circle 
will not profess to furnish instruction with regard to the 
more elevated truths of the celestial world when seriously 
questioned, and only do this from the blind impulse of love 



CIRCLES OF THE SECOND SPHERE. 81 

which seeks the gratification of those with whom they 
converse. If this fact is kept prominently in the mind, it 
will serve to account for the circumstance that in the primary 
stages of spiritual development on the earth, the messages 
which were conveyed from the unseen world were charac- 
terized by a complete absence of that food which the soul 
seeks, and the light which tends to its unfolding and pro- 
gress ; for it should be known that in the primary stages of 
spiritual development, the spirits of the first and second 
circles were employed to produce external demonstrations 
of an invisible energy, and to convey to the investigating 
mind the messages of friendly affection. 

It is now the desire of the writers to ascend to the next 
higher plane of development, which is seen in the Third 
Circle. In this circle of spirits there is manifested a more 
complete unfolding of the interior germ of the soul, and a 
corresponding increase of the light of wisdom. The mem- 
bers of this circle are able to perceive some small portion 
of the grandeur of the celestial world, and are prepared to 
delineate to some extent the condition of the spirit when 
it rises from its rudimental form. Still it must be re- 
marked, and should be generally understood, that the 
spirits in this circle are but partially unfolded in wisdom, 
and are, therefore, not prepared to reveal to the world those 
truths which will be adapted to reform and purify its cor- 
ruptions ; and it is especially observed that the members 
of this circle are the individuals who upon the earth were 
the victims of religious bigotry and sectarianism, and that 
they do not for some length of time become released from 
the trammels by which their minds were bound while in 
the body, and are not, consequently, entirely relieved of 
the impressions which were enstamped upon the soul in 



82 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

the process of early education. It is seen and proved to 
be the case, that the spirits of the Third Circle are slili 
the same in the prejudices which were fastened upon their 
minds as upon the earth; that they still retain and defend, 
as far as they are able, the peculiar views and doctrines 
which they were taught to cherish, and that they do not 
hesitate to confirm the prejudices of the earthly friends 
with whom they converse, when, those prejudices chance 
to be in accordance with their own. From this cause it 
has occurred that numerous inconsistencies have been 
witnessed by investigating minds, inasmuch as contradic- 
tory communications have been received from spirits in 
this circle with relation to certain points of religious faith 
and doctrine. Those individuals who were, while in the 
body, zealous advocates of the popular doctrines of the 
church, whose minds were trammeled by sectarian bigo- 
try, and immersed in the deepest gloom and despondency 
from the fear of eternal suffering, will still continue, even 
while surrounded by the beauties of the Second Sphere, 
to cherish the same dogmas to which they were formerly 
attached, and will embrace every suitable opportunity to 
impress these dogmas on the minds of their earthly friends. 
It should be known that these spirits are perfectly honest 
in the expression of their religious views, and are fully 
convinced, for the time being, that these are the exact 
truth ) so that the communications which seem to be of an 
inconsistent nature, with reference to the religious views of 
spirits, should not be traced to an evil source, but should 
be regarded as the legitimate expression of the undevel- 
oped and unilluminated spirit. On the principles which 
are here presented, the reader will discover that the spirits 
of the Third Circle are not the appropriate teachers of the 



CIRCLES OF THE SECOND SPHERE. 83 

world, and are not adapted to supply the wants and relieve 
the necessities of the earth-children, but that they have al- 
ready performed the mission which they are chosen to fulfill 
in the part that they have taken to produce evidence of the 
spiritual existence. 

The spirits will now proceed to speak of the Fourth 
Circle of the Second Sphere. This circle represents an 
obvious improvement on that which w^as last mentioned, 
and contains a more full and extensive supply of heavenly 
wisdom. The germ of the spirit is here unfolded to an 
extent which it is pleasing to behold, and a deep and ear- 
nest aspiration is created for a more rapid progress. Here 
the light of higher circles begins to be reflected with a 
powerful radiance, and the warmth of love is mingled with 
the sweet and tranquil flow of a divine knowledge. In 
this circle the affections and sympathies are elevated upon 
the plane of wisdom; the principle which gives dignity 
and divinity to the spiritual nature — the principle which 
is the counterpart of divine intelligence, begins to expand 
and ripen in the inward being. The objects which are 
here sought, are those that serve to ennoble and dignify 
the soul which seeks, and the efforts which are here made 
for the welfare of humanity are guided in a high degree 
by the dictates of wisdom. Yet even in the Fourth Circle 
there is not a complete unfolding of the heavenly germ — 
there is not a complete deliverance from the profound im- 
pressions which were produced by early education ; and 
hence, while the spirits which reside upon this plane are 
moved by the best and purest motives, they have not the 
ability to furnish that amount of information which is re- 
quired to complete the work of social reform — and hence 
these spirits should not be blamed, or treated harshly by 



84 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

the inhabitants of the earth, when they fail, from a want of 
power which they do not possess, to communicate such in- 
struction as is adapted to the advanced mind. 

The Fifth Circle of the Second Sphere is situated next 
to that which has been previously noticed in the ascend- 
ing gradations of spiritual development. It is the truth 
which spirits desire to express with reference to this circle, 
that its members are entirely freed from religious bigotry, 
released from the chains of creed and sect, delivered from 
the bondage of sectarian dogmas, and introduced into a 
sphere of light where the soul may expand, and bloom, and 
freshen in the sweetness of the celestial air. The spirits 
desire to state that the members of the Fifth Circle are un- 
folded in wisdom ; that they have cultivated and cherished 
the immortal germ that gives life and being to the spirit; 
that they have searched and investigated the principles of 
the spiritual universe, and that, from the wisdom which 
they have gathered in a continued course of investigations, 
they are prepared, authorized, and commissioned to act as 
teachers and reformers of the human race. 

"The spirits which are engaged in writing the present 
Lecture, are fully aware that they have now reached a 
point in the present investigation where the native delicacy 
of the earthly being would forbid expression, on the prin- 
ciple that the truly wise will speak least of their own wis- 
dom. Yet it should be understood that the spirits of the 
Sixth Circle which now write, are moved by a higher 
principle than that which is founded on a sickly delicacy, 
and hence they have presented their claims to be heard by 
the inhabitants of earth with a bold and unhesitating con- 
fidence. It is not their desire to compel the world to re- 
ceive their sayings on the strength of their own testimony, 



CIRCLES OF THE SECOND SPHERE 85 

but it is their desire that the human race should listen to, 
and inwardly digest the teachings which they convey, 
testing the intrinsic value of all that may be written by the 
standard of reason and intuitive perception, which are the 
ever-watchful residents of the illuminated soul. With re- 
lation to the circles of the Second Sphere that ascend above 
the stage of progress to which the writers have arrived, it 
does not become the spirits of the Sixth Circle to remark ; 
and therefore they will close the present Lecture, by re- 
marking that the circles which extend through the lofty 
heights of the spiritual heavens are sublime and glorious 
beyond the conceptions of the human mind, and form an 
attractive magnet, by whose silent and impressive influ- 
ence the expanding spirit is drawn upward with the ever- 
deepening sense of divine wisdom, and a blissful assur- 
ance of immortal love. 



LECTURE VIII 

RELIGION OF THE CHURCH. 

The subject of the Religion of the Church is the subject 
which the spirits design to present in its bearings on the 
interests of the soul and the advancement of the world. It 
might, perhaps, be just to question the propriety of affirm- 
ing that the existing Church has a religion ; if this term is 
used in its literal sense, to signify the ties or obligation by 
which an individual is bound to truth and duty. But em- 
ploying this term in the more usual sense in which it is 
accepted by the world, the spirits clearly perceive that the 
Church has a religion, and that that religion has been the 
bane of the world. The truth on this subject needs to be 
fully understood ; and hence the real truth will be spoken 
in the present Lecture, independently of the fear or favor 
of men. 

What, then, let it be first inquired, is the religion of the 
Church ? The spirits will answer that this religion is the 
structure of Materialism — that it is the combination and 
concentration of those sensuous thoughts, sentiments and 
expressions, which can be only received through the medi- 
um of the most external powers. The religion which the 
Church aims to inculcate is a religion of forms and cere- 
monies, in which there is not sufficient vitality to keep the 
soul from death; and the Church itself, being destitute of 
any animating life, is a dead and rotten organization which 
is ready to crumble and dissolve. The religion which has 



RELIGION OF THE CHURCH. S7 

been introduced in the name of Jesus, is a religion which 
is founded upon the laws and institutions of Moses ; it is 
a religion which has reference to those ancient forms and 
time-honored customs which move the elements of the 
outward man, but have no effect with the immortal soul. 
This is a religion which the world has loved, because it 
could enter into its most holy sanctuary and worship beside 
its most sacred altar, while at the same moment it could 
consistently carry on the process of thoughtful abstraction 
with regard to the things of the external life. It is a reli- 
gion which the world has loved, because it has been adap- 
ted to all the material views and feelings with which it has 
been filled, and because it has fostered in its bosom those 
nurslings of the mass which are seen in the perverted pas- 
sions of the depraved mind. It is a religion which has the 
good of the world in its professions, but which has the 
peruersion of human thoughts and feelings in its tendency. 
It is a religion which has the most flattering voice, but the 
most corrupt heart; which is like the whited sepulcher, 
fair as to its external appearance, but within the home and 
sanctuary of death itself. It is a religion which is depend- 
ent upon the external arrangements which are necessary to 
its very existence; it is like the sensation of the animal 
but which exists while the organization endures, which be- 
comes diffused and swallowed up in surrounding elements 
when this decays ; it is the religion which consists in the 
existence of the outward temple, in the institution of cer- 
tain ceremonies, in the observance of certain rites, and in 
the punctual observance of all the obligations which are 
imposed upon its adherents under the penalty of divine 
wrath. Thus the religion of the Church is wholly and la- 
mentably material in its entire nature and constitution — 



88 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

it is utterly destitute of that animating and indwelling life 
which can only exist as the influence of an inward soul. 
The spirits are fully prepared to demonstrate what has 
been previously stated, by an appeal to facts which can not 
be overthrown. They aie prepared to show that the state- 
ments which they have made do not result from any hos- 
tility which they feel for the Church, on the ground of a 
combative feeling, but that they do result from an abso- 
lute perception of the wrongs and evils which are implanted 
in its very heart. Look, then, at the reality which has been 
expressed. See the blindness, ignorance and superstition 
which are presented to the people as divine truth ; and 
then gaze upon the crowds which gather in the sanctuary 
where the music of the human voice is caused to bear 
tidings of eternal woe — and when this is beheld and rea- 
lized, let the mind retire into its own interior temple and 
ask the consciousness which slumbers there, if this is 
the religion of Jesus ? In the first place, the religion of the 
Church is material, because it cherishes the ceremonies 
which have been made the offspring of the most sensuous 
people. At the time when the institutions of Moses were 
established, the general mind was groping upon a material 
plane ; it was unilluminated with the truths of the inward 
life, and it had no conception of those higher attainments 
which dwell in the regions of unfading light. Acordingly 
the only form of worship which could be made to apply to 
the mind in this condition, was a material one. This was 
the only form of religion which it was at that time prepar- 
ed either to receive or comprehend. It was therefore the 
dictate of wisdom to furnish the people with such a reli- 
gion as should appeal mostly to the external senses, and 
should be acknowledged bv the most external reason. The 



RELIGION OF THE CHURCH. 89 

Jewish nation was the recipient of this religion, which, 
although it is stated that they represented the chosen peo- 
ple of God, was still immersed in the grossest darkness of 
which the world can now conceive. To this nation, the 
forms and ceremonies ordained by Moses were imparted, 
because they were adapted to its internal state ; and these 
forms and ceremonies were simply the external symbols of 
interior truths, for the reason that the minds of the people 
were not in a suitable condition to receive such truths 
through any other medium. There was, therefore, an ex- 
cuse for those who were thus material and unenlightened, 
to foster a material and unenlightened system of religion ; 
but the great and lamentable evil stands prominently be- 
fore the vision of spirits, that the same dark and sensuous 
religion is made the cherished offspring of the Church in 
this age of light and spiritual life. 

This is the fact which the writers of this volume wish to 
be kept before the mind of the reader : for that it is a fact, 
which even the eyes of mortals can perceive, is known by 
those who are conducting the present investigation. Let the 
mind boldly meet the facts in this case ; let it see that 
there is a reality in the statements which have been made 
in this Lecture. The religion of the Church, then, consists 
in the performance of certain external rites. Where would 
be this religion if there were no churches ? Where would 
be this religion if there were not services of worship? Where 
would be this religion if there were no sermons delivered, 
no prayers offered, and no hymns sung? It must be seen 
by every candid mind that the very meat and substance of 
this religion consist in these outward services of devotion 
— sevices which may have influence on the external 
movements of individuals — which may cause the knee 



90 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

to bend, the arm to be raised in suplication, or the lips to 
be moved to chant the praises of God ; but which can never 
of themselves move the heart to love — which can never 
breathe the joys of inward life — which can never in- 
troduce into the soul that deep and sweetly-pervading 
harmony which is the tranquil happiness of the blest in 
Heaven. Therefore shall it be triumphantly reaffirmed 
by those who see that its condition is material, that the 
religion which is maintained and fostered is sensual and 
external in its nature, and has no similitude w T ith the sub- 
lime and heavenly devotion which the immortals feel. 

But the religion of the Church is not only material, but 
it is also narrow and contracted in its sentiments. This 
fact will be proved by an appeal to the existing realities 
which are felt and known by those who dwell within the 
courts of the temple. Spirits perceive that the expanded 
and elevated conceptions of the advanced mind, have no 
existence within the gates of popular creeds • but they see 
that the contracted and groveling conceptions of the bigot 
are the food and strength of the religionist. What they 
thus perceive is true and w r ise, according to the state of 
the interior vision; but it is the lamented condition over 
which the spirits have sighed and mourned, without pos- 
sessing the ability to impart immediate relief. Let the 
mind look at the doctrines and dogmas of the church, and 
examine their intrinsic nature ; let it see for itself the 
narrow and contracted platform on which they rest, and 
the exceedingly limited space into which it compresses 
the aspiring soul. What are the doctrines oi the church 
w T hich form a prominent part of its religion? They are 
doctrines of woe and terror, which represent the race as 
being under the wrath and condemnation of God — the 



RELIGION OF THE CHURCH. 91 

doctrine of the vicarious atonement, which is the senti- 
ment that God commissioned an agent, which agent was 
a part of himself, to interpose between the displeasure by 
which he was moved, and the race which he had pre- 
viously decided to punish — the doctrine of election and 
reprobation, which represents the Divine Being as choos- 
ing some of his creatures from the beginning to enjoy 
everlasting life, and as predetermining the remainder to 
suffer everlasting torture — the doctrine of the torments of 
hell and the salvation of the redeemed — the doctrine of a 
personal devil and the divinity of Christ. In all these doc- 
trines, there is presented to the view of spirits the most 
lamentable ignorance, and the evidence of contracted 
thought. They are doctrines which are based merely 
upon some external expressions contained in a volume 
which has no other authority than its native and inherent 
truthfulness, and which can claim no other reverence than 
that which truth may always, under all circumstances, and 
in all localities, demand. They are doctrines with which 
the soul, illuminated by the truths of Nature, has no sym- 
pathy, and by which the emotions of holy gratitude and 
praise are left to slumber in the chambers of the heart. 
They are doctrines which have no foundation on the prin- 
ciples of the Universe — which have no assimilation with 
the realities of the spiritual world — which are entirely un- 
sustained by that reason which is the divinest gift of man, 
and which have a legitimate tendency to restrict and 
cramp the free thoughts and exalted aspirations of the 
soul. Hence these doctrines, since they stand as the re- 
presentatives of the religion of the church, may be said to 
be the prevailing sentiments of the people, by whom the 
church is sustained : and this being the case, the spirits 



92 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

may state, as a corresponding truth, that the religion of the 
church is the thick and adamantine wall by which the 
human mind is confined, within which it is bound, and 
beyond which it is not permitted to roam under the fear of 
the most terrible penalty. Therefore the adherents of this 
religion have been the passive slaves of the creed by 
which their souls are chained. They have been the will- 
ing subjects of the fearful despotism of theological tyrants. 
It is degrading in the extreme for men who bear the 
image of the Divinity, and whose thoughts should flow 
out like the pure air of heaven, to be thus confined within 
the narrow limits of a creed. It is degrading in the most 
literal sense for the immortal being to be thus chained 
and cramped by the shackles of a sect. It is degrad- 
ing in a degree which causes spirits to most deeply sigh, 
for the flower of creation to become thus withered beneath 
the damp breath of religious bigotry — to be thus shut out 
from all the beauties and glories which dwell around it 
in the Universe, and which well up from an inexhaustible 
spring in the unfathomable depths of creation. The spirits 
have mourned that this has been the sad and lamented fate of 
those who have bowed before the altars of the church, and 
and they have seen that the religion which is here born 
and nourished is the productive source of all the degrada- 
tion of soul to which these have been subjected. 

In connection with the truths which have been previous- 
ly elucidated, the present writers desire to unfold another 
truth which it is important should be borne in mind. This 
truth has relation to the fact that the tendency of the re- 
ligion which the Church has cherished, has been unfavora- 
ble to the real interests and welfare of the world, and has 
been utterlv powerless to effect the reformation which is to 



RELIGION OF THE CHURCH, 93 

be desired in the morals and habits of the people. The 
philosophy and foundation of the truth which is here stated, 
may be seen in the agents which this religion employs to 
accomplish its object. These agents will be found to be 
those which can only apply to those minds that dwell upon 
the lowest plane of human development : and the tendency 
of these agents will be seen to be the complete depression 
and debasement of the minds which they are adapted to 
affect. What, the spirits inquire, is the great engine of the 
Church ? It is the engine of terror — the engine of degra- 
ding fear — the engine of eternal torture. What has been 
the chief feature of the sermons which have been de- 
livered from the pulpit? It is the repentance of sinners 
through the fear of hell ; it is the escape from divine wrath 
by believing a lie ; it is the anguish of a crushed and bro- 
ken spirit which is withering in eternal torture. What 
effect has this religion upon the mind ? It has an effect 
to wither all the pleasures of purity which may be born 
there to bloom in Heaven ; it has an effect to depress the 
energies of the soul by the oppressive burden of fear ; it 
has an effect to degrade and lower the whole being of the 
individual, while he is endeavoring to gain a passage 
through the narrow way which leads to life. The conse- 
quence has been that the adherents of the religion of the 
Church have been debased and contracted in all their 
thoughts, feelings, and desires ; and that they have been 
deprived from receiving those pure delights and exalted 
pleasures which are enjoyed alone by the free mind. But 
this is not all. The consequence which has resulted from 
the religion of the Church, has been still more serious 
than that which is represented in the debasement and con- 
traction of human thought. There is a consequence in 



94 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

this which ultimates and exercises the lowest powers, pas- 
sions, and desires of the earthly nature ; there is a conse- 
quence here which feeds and nourishes the sentiments by 
which the most degraded of the human species are gov- 
erned; there is a consequence here which is rendered 
distinctly visible in the hypocrisy of the man who commits 
sin during the six days of the week, knowing that they 
will be all pardoned on the seventh — in the vileness of 
the sinner who attends to the services of the sanctuary in 
order that he may escape from hell ; and in the saintly un- 
godliness of the priest who conceals the faults of his every- 
day life by the convenient cloak of religious profession. 
These are some of the consequences and effects of the 
religion of the Church, and they are such as have been 
brought to the light of human investigation, which any in- 
dividual may discover who has the candor to acknowledge 
their existence, 

Yet even this does not represent the extent of that influ- 
ence which is exerted by the prevailing religion. It has 
a tendency to promote skepticism in relation to the most 
important subjects of religious faith. It tends to cause 
the mind to doubt the reality of a future existence, by 
presenting no satisfactory evidence on which this real- 
ity can be based. It tends to weaken the faith of the 
human mind in the existence of the Divine Being, by at- 
tributing to Him those revolting characteristics which can 
never be recognized by the internal reason. It serves to 
destroy the belief which the soul naturally entertains in 
the truth of spiritual communion, by enforcing the senti- 
ment that the spirit, on its departure from the body, is en- 
closed within the walls of its distant Heaven, or is confined 
amid the flames of its consuming hell, Such has been 



RELIGION OF THE CHURCH. 95 

the natural and legitimate effect of the religion of the 
Church — such has been the legitimate influence which it 
has exerted upon the human soul ; and this effect and in- 
fluence are seen and lamented by those from whom no 
good and no evil can be hid. Is it not true that the Church 
has made more infidels than it has made Christians ? Is 
it not true that the religion which has been fastened in its 
bosom, has served to weaken and depress the energies of 
the mind, so as to introduce doubt and perplexity when 
there should exist faith and trust. Is it not an established 
fact that the noblest and most expanded minds which 
have ever dwelt upon the earth, have entertained the least 
faith in the records of the Primitive History ? And is it 
not true that those who have been denominated infidels 
and heretics by the Church have been the acknowledged 
reasoners of the world, in whom there was found no fault 
so much as a want of faith in the dogmas which cannot 
be comprehended — which no mortal can satisfactorily ex- 
plain, and which have no foundation in the Scriptures of 
the earth and skies } If these facts are admitted as they 
must be by all well-informed minds, then let it be conce- 
ded at once that the influence of the Church has led to 
infidelity — let it be confessed that its religion has tended 
to weaken and impair the intuitive faith of the soul I Then 
let the reader and the world look at the condition of those 
who dwell within the courts of the religious temple. What 
is the state of their interior thoughts ? Why, they profess 
to believe in God, and yet they have not sufficient faith in 
his existence to believe that He has cognizance of the op- 
erations of Nature, and guides the affairs of men in the 
channel of unerring wisdom; they have not sufficient 
faith in his being to think that He can commune with the 



96 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

deep-planted germ of the interior being.without an outward 
expression of the desires which should be felt in the in- 
most heart; they have not sufficient faith in the attributes 
which form the inherent qualities of his nature, to believe 
that the great end of the Divine government will be at- 
tained by the operation of a power which no mortal can 
resist — that this end has been conceived by wisdom which 
is infinite in its expansion, and that this will be attained 
through the ceaseless influence of that exhaustless love 
which gleams forth from every living thing. So the adhe- 
rents of the popular theology profess to believe in a future 
existence, and yet they have not sufficient faith in this to 
awaken any inherent aspiration for further knowledge w T ith 
respect to this state ; they have not faith enough to inquire 
with relation to the nature or mode of the existence in 
which they profess to believe, and with all the faith which 
they pretend to guard and preserve with such jealous care, 
they can sleep upon the cushioned seats of the temple in 
which they worship, while the priest deals out the vials of 
wrath, and charges God with filling the world of spirit with 
tormenting devils. In the same manner, the religionists of 
the Church profess to believe in a Heaven of bliss, where 
the purified and redeemed spirit will be saved from the 
tortures of the wicked ; and still they have so little faith 
in this Heaven that they sink into stoic apathy when all its 
imaginary glories are described, and when, under all the 
fears which can be inspired, they are warned to make this 
the chief object of attainment; they have so little faith in 
this that they take no trouble to inquire where Heaven is 
— what is the state of its inhabitants, and what is the na- 
ture of the employment which the soul will seek in its new 
abode 1 Determining, then, the existence of the cause from 

*3 



RELIGION OF THE CHURCH. 97 

the effects which follow, what evidence is furnished that 
the religion of the Church inspires any true or living faith 
in God, a future existence, or the Heaven of the spirit ? 
Surely this evidence, if weighed in the scales of justice 
and reason, would be found wanting; and in this case the 
w T orld is left to take the profession in place of the works 
which should be manifest. 

The materialism and infidelity of the Church are dis- 
played in the treatment which this has paid to the subject 
of spiritualism in the present age. It is a prominent point 
with the Church to insist upon the worship of the Supreme 
Being. This worship, it claims, is natural, legitimate, and 
necessary. It is precisely what man should render unto 
the Being by whose power he has been introduced into 
existence, and is an obligation resting upon him which he 
is required to discharge, at least once in seven days. But 
notwithstanding the necessity and reasonableness of hold- 
ing communion with the Supreme Spirit, it is supposed to 
be entirely irrational and inconsistent to believe that the 
mortals of the earth can by any possibility hold commu- 
nion with the finite spirits which have become disrobed 
of the garments of the flesh. The great obligation of Di- 
vine worship will be readily acknowledged ; and its rea- 
sonableness and possibility will be easily conceived, but 
when it is stated that it is possible and righteous to com- 
mune with the dwellers of the Second Sphere, men can 
perceive no reason in tjiis because the doctrine has not 
been distinctly taught by their revered fathers, and because 
it is not contained within the narrow limits of their creed. 
The religion of the Church professes to be especially spi- 
ritual — because it is a point which is made particularly 
conspicuous that the letter killeth, but that the Spirit giv- 



98 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

eth life, and it is a prominent sentiment of the writings 
which are professedly reverenced by the Church, that the 
inw T ard man may grow fresh and strong while the body 
decays beneath the influence of surrounding elements — 
that the kingdom which is established in the soul is the 
true source of human enjoyment — that the beauty, and 
glory, and immortal blessedness of a future existence are 
to be known and enjoyed by the inward being. But it is 
unfortunately the case that, while the Church has professed 
to be spiritual, and has laid its platform upon those records 
which contain the elements of a spiritual theory, the reli- 
gion which is made the popular repository of faith, has dis- 
carded every thing which may bear the semblance of spi- 
rituality, in case it proceeds from any other source than 
the established systems of belief. This is an inconsist- 
ency which clearly reveals the inherent nature and legiti- 
mate tendency of the religion in question, and is but one of 
the numerous repelling features which are manifested to 
the gaze of spirits. 

It is now proper to consider the inefficiency of the reli- 
gion of the Church to renovate and reform the world. From 
a corrupt and polluting spring can flow no streams which 
will serve to impart life and vigor to the soil which it moist- 
ens ; and on the same general principle, there can proceed 
no saving or elevating influence from the systems of reli- 
gious faith which are intrinsically rotten and polluted. For 
long centuries has the religion of the Church exerted its 
influence on the world ; and down through the channels of 
human society have flowed the murky streams of death, 
which have proceeded from the fountain that has been es- 
tablished in the very heart of the world. The ministers of 
the sanctuary have delivered their sermons, and offered 



RELIGION OF THE CHURCH- 99 

their petitions to God, and sung praises in adoration of his 
name ; the people, led blinded and weakened by the force 
of priestly authority, have followed in the footsteps of the 
ancient fathers, and the great mass, with a common but 
forced assent, has moved on in conformity with the estab- 
lished usages and customs which religion has established. 
And yet what is the effect of all this ! Answer, ye who 
rely upon the saving power of religious faith. Answer, 
ye who have believed in the redemption of the world 
through human blood. Answer, ye who have cherished 
the faith that the race are cleansed from its corruptions 
through the sufferings and death of an individual who lived 
on the earth more than eighteen hundred years ago. When 
this question is answered, then will the spirits make the 
statement which they desire to have distinctly remember- 
ed ; and that statement is, that the prevailing religion of the 
Church has been utterly powerless to accomplish the work 
of human redemption — that it has been like a stagnant 
pool in which the elements of life have all departed — that 
it has been like the cold, unilluminated body of some 
darkened planet from which the sun has withdrawn its 
beams forever. In all the efforts of past centuries, this re- 
ligion has been entirely incapable of promoting the true 
interests of the world ; it has been unsuccessful in securing 
the reformation and refinement which it professes to have 
in view, and it has failed — signally failed — to create any 
deep and lasting effect which can be recognized as a 
blessing to humanity. Therefore will the spirits whisper 
in the ear of mortals a truth which should be deeply rea- 
lized, that, while the religion of the Church is but a dead 
and crumbling organization — while the elements of which 
it is composed shall dissolve and become absorbed in the 



100 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

chaos which itself has created, — there is a religion pure, 
holy, and heavenly, which has the essence of divine life, 
which is derived from a source that is exhaustless and 
immortal, and which will lead the human race upward to 
the temple of everlasting truth ; and they would say that 
this religion is the indwelling consciousness of light and 
truth — the internal obedience to the laws of Nature and 
of God, and the deep conviction that what has been intro- 
duced into being as the child of the Divinity, shall con- 
tinue to advance nearer and still more near to the bright 
and blissful source of its original birth. 



LECTURE IX. 

PHILOSOPHY OF S PI RITU AL I Z ATION . 

The world of mankind is in a state of darkness and de- 
pravity. Materialism, with its cold and polluting touch, has 
fastened upon the life- chords of humanity, and the life of 
the spirit has been extinguished upon its sacred shrine. 
A dark and impenetrable veil has been thrown upon the 
face of Man, and through the thick shadows that surround 
his way, has the brightness of the angel-world been dark- 
ened and obscured. This state of mankind has been the 
doleful want of spiritual life and power; it has been the 
absence of all the holy and elevating faculties which belong 
to the developed and perfected soul. This has been a 
state of ignorance and evil, so far as evil represents a con- 
dition of extreme imperfection ; for the gross and earthly 
nature of man has predominated over his moral and spirit- 
ual powers, and the indwelling and unfading glory which 
lingers in the deepest depth of the human spirit, has been 
suppressed and buried. The true dignity of the immortal 
nature — the germ of eternal purity which is therein im- 
planted, and all the holy powers and energies that slumber 
in their deathlike lethargy, have been swallowed up in the 
fearful and polluting streams of the sensual passions. It 
is the world of sense which man has most fondly loved ; 
it is the realm of matter to which he has been most deeply 
attached, and it is to the beauties which fade and die that 
his soul has been the most heartily attracted. 



102 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

This is the condition of the world which is lamented by 
the inhabitants of the angel-home. The spirits have la- 
mented that the race should be so far lost to the nobleness 
and dignity which are impressed upon the very nature of 
man. They lament that the stains of sin and crime should 
have marred the bright and holy life which was born 
within the soul. They lament that the sweetness and 
purity of the spirit in its native condition, should be buried 
and unknown. They lament that the low and groveling 
passions and propensities of the flesh should be suffered 
to predominate over the eternal and ever-living spirit, so 
that its noblest powers, its most indestructible energies, and 
its most heavenly gifts should be obscured by the black- 
ness of earthly corruption. The angels have mourned 
long over the degraded condition of the race • and when 
they have witnessed the deeds of crime — when they have 
heard the wails of woe — when they have beheld the tears 
of sorrow, they have sympathized with fond and heartfelt 
affection with the dwellers of the human world. they 
have labored, when darkness covered the earth — when 
Sorrow lifted up her mournful voice — when streams of 
blood flowed through the avenues of the social world, and 
groans were made the echoes of crushed and broken hearts 
— they have labored to restore to humanity the dignity 
which it has lost ; to furnish it with the privileges which 
it seeks, and to breathe upon its dark and desolated bosom 
the elements of an inward life. For long ages have the 
angels thus labored with their earthly kindred ; and as the 
tide of time has flowed rapidly down the course of the 
advancing world, they have sought by all the means which 
angelic wisdom could devise, to elevate, enlighten and re- 
form the race, — reflecting upon its surface the radiance 



PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITUALIZATION. 10& 

which streams from the brightness of their own heavenly 
abode, and introducing into the heart of existing society 
the influence of a new-born love. 

The efforts which were made in this manner were not 
unsuccessful; though they were unspeakably severe — se- 
vere in a sense of which mortals can form no just concep- 
tion ; for when the pure and unfolded angel descends from 
the glory of his ever-beautiful home, to bless his degraded 
brother on the earth, he must meet with the most chilling 
and repulsive atmosphere, whose presence seems to damp- 
en the immortal energies by which he lives and moves. 
Yet these efforts have resulted in the gradual and unceas- 
ing progress of the race towards the exalted end of human 
destiny ; and as the holy and peaceful influences have dis- 
cended from the spiritual world — as the sweet voices of 
the angels have flowed into the very heart of the weeping 
world, and as the gentle yet irresistible power of the des- 
embodied soul has been made manifest, there has been an 
effect of pure and hallowed aspiration produced — there 
has been a deep and thrilling echo heard — there has been 
a work of saving and illuminating energy accomplished. 
Thus the labors of spirits have been already partially re- 
warded ; they have been blessed with the first sprouts of 
the coming harvest; they have been followed with those 
fruits of life and peace whose fragrance shall arise like 
sweetest incense unto God. The hearts of the spirits have 
been encouraged with the increasing evidences of human 
advancement. They have been comforted by the mani- 
festations of a constant and increasing progress — they have 
been filled with hope and joy, as the deathlike slumber has 
passed from the great body of humanity, and man is arising 
to the blissfulness of the immortal life. Therefore are their 



t 

104 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

efforts strengthened, united arid powerful, towards the ac- 
complishment of the vast design which has been conceiv- 
ed in the spiritual world. They still labor, and will continue 
to labor, with unceasing and irresistible power, and the 
world of mankind shall feel the deep and immortal ener- 
gy which dwells in the angel-bosom. 

The spirits have designed to show that the world has 
been in a state of darkness and materialism — that it has 
been in a condition of ignorance and depravity, and that 
it has been destitute of the elements of the spiritual life. 
They have endeavored to show that the human family 
has been beneath the care and protection of the angel- 
world, and that by the influence which this has exerted, 
it has been enabled to advance through the shadows of 
the ancient gloom, along the shining pathway of eternal 
progress. What they would now state is, that the world 
is more immediately under the direction and control of 
spiritual beings than at any previous period — that it is 
more directly and authoritatively inspired, than even in the 
time of Christ and the apostles — that it is more deeply 
and powerfully impressed with the presence and influence 
of the spiritual realms, than when the gift of the Holy 
Ghost was given to the Christian believers on the day of 
Pentecost The spirits hesitate not to affirm that the world 
is now so far beneath their power, that it must inevitably 
obey the decrees of angelic wisdom, and that the course 
which it takes in the future must inevitably correspond with 
the primary authority of a higher and diviner world. It is 
true that the human family may not at all times realize 
the presence of the spirits who linger around it. It may 
not at all times know or feel that it is guided and im- 
pressed by the dwellers of the Second Sphere, and it may 



PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITUALIZATIO>\ 105 

not profoundly appreciate the truths which are revealed 
for its enlightenment and elevation. But the power which 
dwells on high is still supreme; the voice which whispers 
from the deep of Heaven is still sweet and irresistible, 
and the will which is exerted for the appropriate develop- 
ment of Man, is silently performing its important office. 
There is no fear now in the bosom of angels with regard 
to the welfare of the world. They have now the author- 
ity and the power vested in their own hands. They have 
the commission which is their native right and most pre- 
cious privilege, and they have an irresistible and uncon- 
querable energy which no time or sense can w ? eaken. 
Silent, but deep and powerful, flows on the stream of hu- 
man advancement ; sweet and pure the whisperings of 
angels fall upon the faint and sorrowing bosom, and 
tranquil is the influence which brings peace and harmony 
to the oppressed and sorrowing heart. The wisdom of 
spirits will now be substituted for the wisdom of mortals ; 
the truth of the angel-world will now be revealed to the 
darkened and deceived mass, and the peace which rests 
like a slumbering lake in the bosom of the spiritual world, 
shall be mirrored upon the breast of universal Man. Here 
is represented the design of spirits, and the accomplish- 
ment of this design will be the evidence of their uncon- 
querable power. It is known that the wisdom of Heaven 
is not like the wisdom of earth. It is known that the light 
which breaks in its glory upon the disenthralled soul, is not 
like the shadows which have covered the earth for centu- 
ries. It is known that the bliss which thrills through the 
deep recesses of the sacred and purified spirit, is not like 
that which results from sensuous ease and worldly enjoy- 
ment But the human world shall know what is the real 



106 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

truth ) it shall know what is the unfading light of the Di- 
vinity ; it shall know what is the eternal and sweetly 
pervading peace which dwells in the enlightened and re- 
deemed soul. The efforts of the spirits shall not be thwart- 
ed by the opposing power of mortals ; they shall not be 
terminated through the scorn and contempt of those to- 
wards whom they are directed ) they shall not be ended 
by the cries of the departing ghost which rises from the 
dying form of materialism. Onward shall the stream of 
progress flow, and upward shall the aspirations of the great 
heart of Man be constantly tending. 

The dwellers of the Heavenly Spheres do not work 
without appropriate means. They do not labor blindfolded 
and in the dark as do the teachers of the world. They do not 
labor without a sufficient purpose ? and when that purpose 
has been formed they do not labor in vain. Therefore has 
the spirit of man been subjected to the unfolding process, 
which has been discovered and applied by the inhabitants 
of the spiritual world. It has been operated upon by the 
direct and concentrated influence of whole circles of spi- 
ritual beings, and it has been enabled to advance in the 
work of progress with a rapidity which is astonishing to 
mortals and pleasing to the angels. The entire body of 
the human world has been operated upon in this manner. 
To all the influence of the celestial world has come, and 
in the great bosom of mankind has there been created 
a thirsting and conscious desire to be unfolded to the 
light and happiness of the Upper Spheres. But to the 
world has the power of spirits been manifested in an ex- 
ternal manner. In the view of the outward senses have 
there been furnished demonstrations of invisible power, 
and through the circling avenues of the lower world have 



PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITUALIZATIOX. 107 

flowed the desired evidences of the hovering presence of 
unseen intelligences. Therefore is there a universal 
awakening on the subject of spiritual truth in almost every 
portion of this country, and the moitals who have long 
dreamed that the grave was the end of man, have been fa- 
vored with the messages of their immortal friends. Anew 
life is thus breathed into the dull and apathetic soul of 
man — a renewed energy is now circulating through all 
the elements of his being ; and he begins to feel that he is 
something more than an animal — something more than a 
combination of dead and stagnant materials, and that he 
possesses within his frame the spark of divine intelligence 
which all the mouldering corruptions of earth cannot en- 
tirely smother. This represents the first step in the ad- 
vancement of man towards the attainment of a true spiri- 
tual life. Since men have lived in the external world, it 
was necessary to commence the process of unfolding by 
appealing to the organs of sense, and by stimulating the 
external reason to the exercise of its important faculties. 
Here was the beginning of the development which has 
been prepared for Man ; here was the primary lesson in 
the school of divine wisdom ; here was the shadow of the 
future glory cast upon the desiring and struggling soul. 
These primary evidences of spiritual intercourse have had 
their designed effect upon the mass of the world. They 
have awakened the attention and excited the interest of 
men on the subject of the immortal truths which are em- 
braced in the discoveries of spirits, and thus have im- 
planted a deep and insatiable thirst for knowledge, with 
relation to all the sublime and glorious realities which 
dwell in the immensity of the expanded Universe. There- 
fore have they been given as the steps which lead up to 



10S THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

the great spiritual temple, whose basis rests upon the 
depths of eternal wisdom — whose summit reaches up to 
the heights of the Celestial Universe, and whose altar forms 
the sacred repository of angelic thought. 

But the primary steps in the spiritual development of 
man, are designed to lead to higher and more important 
results than are comprehended in the sensuous evidences 
of spiritual intercourse. The ultimate effect to be pro- 
duced is more exalted than can be conceived by the hu- 
man mind ; it is more deep, and high, and broad than the 
most expanded thoughts of the brightest soul on earth. 
This effect can be felt and understood by the inhabitants 
of the spiritual realms, though it is not as yet entirely pro- 
duced. It can be read with unfailing certaiuty in the 
depths of the divine wisdom by which it was primarily 
conceived, and the sublimity and grandeur which are here 
manifested, form a subject of profound reverence with 
the illuminated spirits, who are engaged in the execution 
of the design which was the natural outbirth of the Di- 
vine love. Thus is the effect to be produced the repre- 
sentative of wisdom and goodness; — the effect was the 
proposed result of the divine and immortal Mind, which 
presides over the affairs of all worlds and all beings ; and 
this effect was the contemplated end of the wise and be- 
nevolent economy, w T hich has been established in the 
earth through the agency of angelic beings. Seers and 
prophets in the past have seen the exalted destiny of man 
on the earth : they have beheld with enraptured souls the 
blissful result of the Divine government on the planet which 
the spirits are now engaged in illuminating, and they have 
spoken in sublime and eloquent tones of the peace, and 
harmony, and happiness which shall reign at the period of 



PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITUALIZATION. 109 

the final redemption of the race. But these have witness- 
ed but the weak and imperfect symbol of the approaching 
glory; they have seen but a shadow of the blessing which 
is to be conferred upon the race ; they have had but a 
faint and feeble conception of the sweet and radiant light 
which shall bathe the weary breast of earth ; and the lan- 
guage which they have employed has been only the sha- 
dowy representative of a blessedness which was uncon- 
ceived and unexpressed. Therefore has the end been es- 
tablished in the depths of the coming ages, as a result of 
an immutable decree which is above and beyond the most 
exalted visions of the most illuminated minds ; and while 
the darkness has rested in thick and heavy folds over hu- 
manity — while a gloom more terrible than the darkness of 
midnight has enshrouded the great deep of the universal 
soul, and while the forms of error, ignorance and super- 
stition have hovered around the most sacred altars of Hu- 
manity, the stream of internal life flows onward through 
the prevailing corruptions of earth, and freshens the wasted 
energies of the spirit into the newness of the angelic be- 
ing. It is seen that the end to be attained is worthy of the 
labor of centuries ; it is seen that the result to be accom- 
plished is the great end to which the world is rapidly and 
unceasingly advancing^ and it is seen that the effect to be 
produced is the result which is worthy of that divine and 
sublimated wisdom by which it was conceived, and through 
which it will be ultimately produced. 

Therefore are the spirits now laboring to accomplish the 
result which has been conceived in Divine wisdom; and 
the decree has gone forth which can never be revoked, by 
which this result shall be speedily attained. The spirits 
have employed the means for the attainment of this end 



110 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER, 

which will be suitable and appropriate. They are using 
the implements which have been placed in their hands by 
the Spirit who rules in wisdom over all. They are taking 
a course, which, though strange and mysterious in the eyes 
of mortals, is in precise accordance with the true direction 
which the inward designs of the immortals have taken, as 
the only real and effectual method of accomplishing the 
proposed result. Let it be understood and deeply impres- 
sed, that the great object which the spiritual world is now 
laboring to secure, is the attainment of a state of internal 
harmony and perfection, in which alone man can reach the 
designed end of his being; and let it be impressed, also, 
that this state represents simply the spiritualization of the 
human system — the refinement and sublimation of the 
gross elements of which it is composed, and the elevation 
of the internal being above the earthly and animal nature, 
so that it may reign in its own native and sublime dignity 
over all the inferior creations of the Divine power. This, 
therefore, being understood to be the object for which the 
spirits are now laboring, it will be readily perceived that 
the means by which this is to be attained, must be of such 
a nature as will produce, in the human system, the requi- 
site degree of refinement and perfection. These means 
are known in the wisdom of spirits, and are not known in 
the wisdom of mortals. They are known by those who 
have earnestly and profoundly investigated the relations of 
cause and effect, and they are clearly perceived to be the 
only effectual method by which the world can be relieved 
from its corruptions, and be prepared to reflect the beauty 
and glory of the immortal world. Since man needs to be 
refined, there is, of course, a refining process to be em- 
ployed in the production of this effect. A method must be 



PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRIi'UALIZATION. 1H 

adopted which will have a tendency to sublimate and pu- 
rify the materials of which his system is composed ; and 
for this purpose a spiritual chemistry must be used which 
will have a tendency to separate the refined essences of 
spirit from the gross elements of matter, and breathe into 
the polluted structure of man a regenerative energy 
which shall quicken into active life all its slumbering 
powers, and bring forth the dead bodies from the sepulcher 
of materialism to the newness and blissfulness of the hea- 
venly reality. To attain this important end, it is necessary 
that the human system should be subjected to a certain 
process of spiritualization ; it is necessary that the internal 
essences should be separated and withdrawn from the gross 
matter which forms the outward and visible body ; it is 
necessary, in short, that there should be a process institu- 
ted by which both the material and spiritual constitution 
may be refined and exalted to the state of harmony which 
is desired and designed in the wisdom of Heaven. There- 
fore the spirits have searched long and deeply to find the 
essential means which are here denoted ; and in the in- 
vestigations which have been made on this subject, they 
have had a constant reference to the ultimate happiness 
and harmony of the human family, and the real, immortal 
interests of the individuals on whom they proposed to exert 
their influence. The means to be employed have been 
found to be such as will infallibly secure the result design- 
ed; and these are seen to be founded upon the unchanging 
laws of Nature, and to be perfectly and wisely adapted to 
the sublime end whose glory shines even now through the 
dim mists of the future. It is proposed by the writers of 
this volume, to reveal to the world the philosophy of the 
process of spiritualization, which has been referred to as the 



112 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

all-important end for which spirits are now laboring ; and 
in order that this may be more effectually accomplished, 
they will explain the cause and effect which are here in- 
volved by a reference to the operations of external Nature. 
In gazing over the expanse of the outward world, the 
eye will naturally rest upon the beautiful and attractive 
forms which adorn its surface; and while the admiring 
gaze is thus directed, the philosophic mind will as natur- 
ally inquire in relation to their growth and expansion — 
it will search profoundly to discover the causes which are 
in operation to produce the results which it beholds, and 
to ascertain the principles on which these causes are tend- 
ing towards the perfection and beauty of all existing 
things. The first law which is most conspicuosly man- 
ifested in the production of these results, is Motion, There 
is constantly occurring a certain change in the position of 
the individual particles which compose the substance of all 
outward forms, and a certain movement of the interior 
elements which constitute their animating and indwelling 
soul. The effect of this inherent motion, which is establish- 
ed in all matter, is seen in the progressive unfolding of all 
material forms, and in the sublimation and perfection of 
all the vast and immeasurable world of matter. This ef- 
fect is the natural product of the existing and actuating 
cause which has been mentioned. A constant and unceas- 
ing change in the internal and unseen elements of matter, 
has a natural tendency to produce refinement in the nature 
and composition of the substances which are thus affected; 
and thus motion became the agent which has been appoint- 
ed by Divine wisdom to acomplish the sublimation of all 
external forms to the beauty and exaltation of life and 
thought. Motion in the mineral produces life in the veg- 



PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITUALIZATION. 113 

etable ; motion in the vegetable produces sensation m the 
animal, and motion in the animal produces intelligence in 
the human being. Thus the principle which has been 
noticed, is the appointed means by which refinement may 
be produced in the constitution of material substances; and 
this refinement will be found to consist in the separation 
and withdrawal of the inherent and invisible essences of 
matter, from the gross materials which are beheld by the 
outward eye. In the lower forms of material substances, 
the essences of spirit are the diffused and pervading soul 
of the forms which are here seen ; in still higher grada- 
tions of material substances, these essences exist in a more 
concentrated form, and thus, as the principle of motion is 
carried on in its own legitimate course, the essences which 
are of the nature of spirit become separated from the more 
material elements, so as to manifest the sublimated quali- 
ties which they inherently possess, as manifested in the 
life which thrills through the human frame, in the sensa- 
tion which gives delight and pleasure to existence, and in 
the exalted and godlike intelligence which gleams forth 
from the inward temple as a sun which has been lighted 
by the torch of the Divinity. 

From the foregoing it will be seen, that the principle of 
motion constitutes the agent by which the refinement of 
matter is carried on, and by which also the beauty and 
perfection of surrounding forms are made apparent to the 
external eye. Therefore this has been seen to be the agent 
of refinement in the human system, and the representa- 
tive of that method which spirits have discovered for the 
sublimation and purification of the human soul. Let this 
truth be properly impressed upon the mind of the reader, 
as the first important point to be remembered in this in- 



114 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

vestigation. The great aim of the spirits in the refinement 
of man is to render him more enlightened and happy — to 
convey the blissful and enrapturing joy which fills their 
own hearts to the hearts of mortals, and the means by 
which this is to be accomplished are found in the perfect 
and beautiful operations of Nature, in which it is seen that 
motion is made the great agent of refinement, and the ap- 
propriate means through which the perfection of all ex- 
isting forms is attained. Thus in the effort to spiritualize 
the human system, the primary object is to introduce a 
commotion among the most refined and interior essences 
which here exist, or, in other words, to operate on the sys- 
tem in such a manner as shall have a tendency to disturb 
and throw out of balance for the time being, the fluids 
w T hich course through the intricate channels of life, and 
animate the living world of unseen existence. This mo- 
tion, when it exists in the system in its ordinary and unde- 
veloped state, is comparatively slow; and hence, though by 
this means alone the race would progress and draw near 
to the end of its aspiration, this progress would be under 
existing circumstances only gradual and at times almost 
imperceptible, and the approach w T hich man is now making 
towards the destiny w T hich awaits him, would be delayed 
by the slowness and feebleness of the internal movements 
which are essentially attendant upon the existence of life 
and intelligence. Therefore have the spirits decided to 
introduce a process of spiritualization, by w r hich this mo- 
tion in the system may become quickened, and by which 
the end to be attained may be more speedily and surely 
approached. The angels have had a regard for the real 
interests of humanity in their works ; and it was love uni- 
ted with the wisdom of the Second Sphere, that prompted 



PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITUALIZATION. 115 

the efforts which are now being made towards this result. 
The process which is referred to is the process of decay 
and death, and the process of birth and life. It is the pro- 
cess of internal and invisible motion, by which the whole 
system becomes changed and exalted to an almost incon- 
ceivable degree in a comparatively short space of time. 

When. then, the spirits have decided to spiritualize the 
system of any individual, they first employ some means, 
the precise nature of which will vary in individual cases, 
to produce an intense motion among the fluids of the sys- 
tem. If the individual is sufficiently impressible, they 
exert a direct and powerful influence upon the nervous 
fluid which pervades the brain, and by virtue of the con- 
trol which is thus gained, they are enabled to throw the 
entire body out of its accustomed equilibrium, and cause 
a change which is rapid and powerful, to take place in the 
nature of the substances affected. In case the individual 
is not sufficiently susceptible to the influence of the spi- 
rits to produce this effect in this mode, then through the 
medium of circumstances which are wisely controlled, 
they place him in situations of such a nature as will have 
the effect to introduce a similar change into the system. 
Whatever has a tendency to produce the required condi- 
tion — whatever subserves the purpose of producing in- 
tense motion, will be employed as an essential means in 
the process of spiritualization. When this effect can be 
produced by the exhilirating emotions of joy and delight, 
then this means is the one appointed for the accomplish- 
ment of the desired result : and, in this case, the spirits are 
pleased to impart all the sweet and thrilling emotions 
which they may cause to flow into the human heart. But 
there are certain conditions of the system, lying entirely 



116 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

beyond the reach of human observation, which require a 
different mode of treatment ; and when such conditions 
exist, it has been found to be necessary to introduce into 
the system the emotions of pain and suffering. The ne- 
cessity which exists in this latter case is one which is la- 
mented by the spirits, and has been the source of much 
doubt and perplexity in the minds of individuals who 
have either experienced or beheld the operation which has 
been here indicated. In cases where it has been neces- 
sary to produce pain, it has been supposed that evil spi- 
rits were at work — that beings inherently malicious and 
moved by the most corrupt designs, were endeavoring to 
crush the joys, blight the hopes, and destroy the reason of 
their hopeless victims. This supposition has been exceed- 
ingly prevalent, and has been a source of many erroneous 
conceptions which are entirely unworthy of the dignity of 
the human soul. The spirits utterly disclaim all truth in 
the imaginations of individuals who believe in the doc- 
trine of evil spirits, and would have it distinctly under- 
stood that the Divine Being has no power to create that 
which is evil, and that the spirits which He has created 
have been formed in his own likeness and impressed with 
his divine image. When, therefore, in the process of spi- 
ritualization, the spirits find it necessary to produce dis- 
agreeable and painful feelings, they are not to be branded 
as evil, but are rather to be blessed for the accomplish- 
ment of a good and necessary work. If mortals could 
conceive of the unutterable sympathy with which the spi- 
rits look down upon all their sufferings, and could they 
appreciate the regret which is ever felt when there exists 
a necessity for producing pain, they would discard the 
unworthy sentiment which attributes this result to evil 



PHILOSOPHY OF SFIRITUALIZATIO>\ 117 

spirits, and would bless the saving power by which they 
are exalted and redeemed. The spirits, as they have inti- 
mated, take such a couise and employ such means as will 
be adapted to the production of a good and benevolent re- 
sult ; and if this result involves suffering either bodily or 
mental, then such suffering only implies the use of the 
means which have been appointed by angelic wisdom. It 
is not pleasure for any spirit to produce pain : it is not a 
joy for them to inflict suffering; it is not a gratification 
for them to cause deception, but all these effects are pro- 
duced as the essential means by which alone these evils 
may be effectually eradicated — as the legitimate and ap- 
pointed method through which the gracious and benevo- 
lent ends of divine wisdom may be attained. Therefore 
in the process of spirituaJization, the spirits take means 
which are presented for their use* as the best adapted to 
the purpose for which they are employed • and these 
means, whether they bring joy or sorrow, pain or pleasure, 
are ordered and devised in that wisdom whieh is separated 
from all the errors and ignorance of earth. 

The process which has been discovered and established 
by the inhabitants of the celestial world, will be found to 
be in exact accordance with the corresponding processes 
which are going on in the expanse of Nature, and is only 
the natural and necessary means whereby the race may 
become renovated from its inmost heart and clothed with 
the garments of eternal life. This is the process by which 
the blessing that is to be conferred upon humanity will be 
imparted, and whereby also the period will be hastened in 
its approach, in which the harmonies and blissfulness of 
Heaven shall be introduced upon the earth. The spirits 
disclaim all idea of supernaturalism in the process to 



118 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

which they refer. They would affirm that they make use 
of natural means for the production of all desired results, 
and that the principles employed are precisely the same 
in their character, as those by which the gross earth be- 
comes replete with the forms of life and beauty which 
adorn its bosom. Could the human eye descend into the 
unseen recesses of visible forms — could it penetrate to the 
hidden essences by which these are animated, and view the 
silent but powerful operation which is there constantly 
carried on ; and then could it turn to the process which 
spirits cause to be established in the human system, and 
compare the operations which are visible in these two de- 
partments of natural and spiritual chemistry, it would dis- 
cover a most perfect and beautiful analogy between the 
two, which would demonstrate the likeness of angelic wis- 
dom with that wisdom which has its being in the Divine 
Mind. Thus shall the world be instructed in the truth, 
that the spirits are the agents or mediums of the Deity for 
the accomplishment of those beneficent ends, which have 
been foreseen and foreordained in the counsels of the In- 
finite. 

Spirits see that the process of spiritualization is the 
process of refinement ; they see that the process of refine- 
ment is the withdrawal or separation of the spiritual from 
the material elements ; they see that the withdrawal of 
the spiritual from the material elements is the sublimation 
and perfection of the substance which undergoes this pro- 
cess ; and they see that this sublimation and perfection are 
the approach of the thing created towards the interior 
bosom of the Creator. This statement will apply both to 
the material and spiritual world ; and its application is es- 
pecially required in the process of spiritualization which 



PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITUALIZATION. 119 

is introduced into the human system. The plant undergoes 
a process by which the internal essences are so withdrawn 
as to form the element of life ; the animal undergoes a simi- 
lar process by which the life-principle becomes sublima- 
ted into that of sensation, and the human being, under the 
direct and special influence of spirits, undergoes a similar 
process by which the immortal spirit is drawn forth from 
the realms of material existence, to enjoy the light and 
glory that stream from the Heavenly Spheres . Thus there 
is a beauty and a naturalness in this process which com- 
mend it to the reason and intuition of the illuminated 
mind, and which also manifest the superintending wis- 
dom of those beings by whom it is discovered and applied. 
If the process produces an emotion of joy, this is because 
the condition of the system required this emotion ; or if, 
on the other hand, the process produces pain, this effect is 
also in perfect correspondence with the peculiar circum- 
stances of the case. Therefore should the human mind 
view the process of spirituaiization in a philosophical 
light, and not through the distorting medium of old the- 
ology ; and when it is thus viewed, the throng of evil spi- 
rits will vanish like the mists of morning, or the dew of the 
brightening earth. The whole object of the spirits is ac- 
complished when they have produced motion in the sys- 
tem, of such a nature and degree as may tend to subserve 
the purposes of refinement. It should be known that 
every emotion of the mind produces a corresponding move- 
ment in the nervous system. Such is the connection ex- 
isting between the body and mind, that the former is affect- 
ed in some way, and to some extent, by every change that 
occurs in the latter. The mind is the superintending 
power of the whole body ; this is the controller of the en- 



120 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

tire trame-work which it inhabits, and when this com- 
mands the body obeys, and when this moves, though in 
the slightest degree, a corresponding motion must neces- 
sarily take place in the refined fluids with which it comes 
in immediate contact — which fluids are so connected 
w T ith other portions of the body as to extend their influ- 
ence throughout the entire organization. In this manner 
and on this principle the spirits carry on the process of 
spiritualization. 

To begin the operation, they act, either directly or inter- 
mediately through the influence of circumstances, on the 
most refined fluids of the brain. This action on the most 
tender and susceptible portion of the human organism, 
naturally serves to affect the operations of the mind, and 
these operations connect directly with the elements with 
which this comes in immediate conjunction, so as to extend a 
corresponding movement of the fluids throughout the whole 
body. When the mind feels a sense of joy, this results from 
the mode in which the fluids of the brain are impressed, 
and this mode will have special reference to the produc- 
tion of ultimate results in the system ; and when the mind 
experiences pain, this proceeds from another mode of im- 
pression, which mode has also a similar reference to the 
attainment of wise and important ends ; — so that, whatever 
may be the precise mode of operation as required by ex- 
isting conditions, the ultimate result is precisely the same 
in its nature. This process shall be known to the world as 
the Savior of the world ; for it is a process by which the 
human soul is brought forth from all contaminating ele- 
ments and influences, and exalted upon the heights of 
eternal wisdom — a process by which the desired and de- 
sirable period of human emancipation shall be speedily 



PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITUALIZATION. 121 

reached, by which the glory of the future condition of 
humanity shall be enjoyed by the regenerated soul, and 
by which the lofty and inconceivable grandeur of the ce- 
lestial world shall be opened to the gaze of the enraptured 
spirit. Will not then, the world bless the unseen agents by 
w T hom its chief and most valuable blessing shall be se- 
cured ? Will not the song of praise go up even to the 
courts of Heaven, for the enjoyment of a privilege which 
mortal has never enjoyed before. let the inhabitants of 
earth endeavor to appreciate the efforts which are being 
made for their elevation and refinement ; let them spiri- 
tualize their perceptions so that they may see the love 
which flows so freely down into all the dark recesses of 
earthly sin and error, and let them banish the clouds which 
have darkened the beaming sun of wisdom, whose fires are 
the eternal breathings of the Supreme Soul. Then will 
they know and understand that what they have termed evil 
is but the agent of a sublime and glorious good, and then 
will they realize the truth, that the beautiful unfolding of 
the spirit is the great end towards which the labors of the 
angels are ever tending, and the distant but ever-ap- 
proaching destiny to which humanity is now moving on. 

The process wnich the spirits have discovered to spirit- 
ualize the system, is exceedingly simple in its nature, but 
is at the same time singular and mysterious in the extreme 
to the individual by whom it is experienced. When he 
is enjoying the delights and pleasures of life, sudden 
gloom will overcloud his joys, and his heart will sink into 
the deepest despondency; or, when plunged into the dark 
waves of sorrow, the mind will dash the depressing gloom 
from the brow, and the countenance will.be illuminated 
with the smile of joy. To the view of mortals, these results 



122 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

have seemed the most mysterious and unaccountable ; but 
in the light of the principles which have been explained 
in the present Lecture, it wiJl be seen that these are simply 
the results of that internal motion which is produced in the 
fluids of the brain, and by which the mind becomes affected 
in such a manner as to produce the desired motion through- 
out the entire system of the individual. The ultimate 
result of the spiritualizing process is more glorious than 
can be conceived by those minds which have not yet 
arisen to the plane of wisdom. This operation introduces 
an intense and exceedingly rapid motion throughout all the 
fluids w T hich form the most refined portions of the organi- 
zation, and this motion causes the fluids thus affected to 
become refined, which refinement is the separation of the 
spiritual from the material elements, in such a manner as to 
create within the human frame a more united and concen- 
trated spiritual form. In the ordinary state of the individ- 
ual, the spiritual essences are intermingled with the gross 
substances of the body and are caused to pervade the body 
in a diffused state, so as to form a correspondence between 
the state of the unrefined organism and unrefined earth. 
But the process of spiritualization introduces a different 
state of things in the body. It produces such a withdraw- 
al of the essences of spirit from their associate material 
elements, as to form a union and concentration of these 
essences in one separate and independent organization 
within the body ; and w T hen this result is attained, the true 
state of the individualized soul is attained — the lofty and 
indwelling powers of the inward being are exercised 
with all their native strength and vigor, and the priceless 
and unspeakable gifts of the new-born spirit are displayed 
with all their celestial brightness. It is only in this state 



PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITUALIZATION. 123 

that man attains the true dignity of his nature ; it is only 
in this state that the native and internal energies of his being 
are drawn forth into their sublimest action, and it is in this 
state only that the beautiful and blissful joys which thrill 
through the hearts of angels, can be experienced by man 
on the earth. This, it should be understood, is the Supe- 
rior Condition, in which the spirit has attained a suprem- 
acy over the sensual nature; in which the gifts of the soul 
are known and manifested ; in which the perceptions which 
belong to the inward man — the senses which are possessed 
by the concentrated spirit, are^ employed in search of those 
heavenly realities which are reposited in the depths of the 
surrounding Universe, and sink down into the bosom of 
the seeking soul. The Superior Condition is the condition 
which is attained by the process of spiritualization, which 
is secured by the direct influence of spiritual beings, and 
which is enjoyed as the legitimate tendency of the refinement 
that is the result of an inherent motion in the human 
organization ; and this condition can be attained only 
through the process which has been discovered by the 
wisdom of spirits, and which is introduced in the systems 
of those individuals who may be selected as the blessed 
subjects of spiritual action. 

The spirits have thus far, in their general influence on 
the world, spiritualized the systems of comparatively few 
individuals ; but they have designed that this process shall 
be made the means by which the darkness of earth may 
be dissipated.and by which the radiance of the Spheres shall 
be admitted through the overshadowing clouds. Therefore 
let those who are affected by the influence of the spirits be 
passive and tranquil ; let them realize that they are in the 
hands of those who are intrinsically wise and good ; let them 



124 THE SPrRITUAT. TEACHER. 

feel, though they 'are called to suffer pain and grief of the 
most intense and agonizing character, that they are suffer- 
ing beneath a power which is mighty in its effects and wise 
in its results, and, in the sweet conviction that the angels 
will do all things well, let them rest on the bosom of that 
love which is ever ready to receive and welcome them to 
the joys of the great redemption. 



LECTURE X. 

THE SPIRITUAL INITIATION, 

Spirits who have long waited to communicate with the 
world and who have been the sorrowing witnesses of 
human crime, and sin, and folly, desire to offer to the world 
a brief exposition of the manner in which they propose to 
regenerate and reform the race. This will be at once re- 
cognized as a subject of primary importance and intrinsic 
interest. It will be seen to be a subject on which philoso- 
phers, and seers, and teachers of all ages have been puz- 
zled and perplexed — in relation to which the most anxious 
and earnest thought has been elicited, and yet with refer- 
ence to which no satisfactory conclusion has been formed. 
A general sentiment has prevailed among the most advan- 
ced minds on the earth, that the world needs to be reformed 
— that the structure of existing society is wrongly construc- 
ted, and that it is a source of prevalent evils which do not 
exist inherently in the nature of man. This sentiment the 
the spirits recognize as perfectly correct, and they have 
been pleased to witness its rapid progress among the minds 
of the mass. It is a true and righteous thought that hu- 
manity is at present in a degraded state, and that this 
state results, not so much from any inherent tendency to 
evil, as from the false and unnatural position in which it is 
placed. 

But the perplexing and yet important question still re- 
mains, By what means shall the race be reformed 1 — In 



126 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

what manner shall humanity be Jifted up to a loftier plane 
of thought, and be made to reflect the glory and brightness 
of the Heavenly Spheres ? Men have sought long and 
anxiously for an answer to this question • and in the aspi- 
rations and struggles of the mind to arrive at the real 
truth, numerous theories have been formed in relation to 
the proper mode of reorganizing society, and the true prin- 
ciples on which the social compact should be formed and 
sealed. These theories, however, though they have shad- 
owed forth an important truth — though they have revealed 
the innate aspirations of the human soul, and though they 
form the earnest of the approaching glory which is reserved 
for man in the future, do not at the same time meet the 
wants of the present age ; they do not take the world as 
it is at present; they do not descend down to the root of 
existing evils ; they do not lay a true and unfailing found- 
ation of the temple of Humanity, but they simply represent 
a state which would be desirable at a period when the race 
has become farther advanced, and have reference to the 
time when the exalted powers of the human spirit shall be 
more completely and harmoniously developed. Therefore 
these theories do not meet the real demands of the present 
era ) they do not make their application in such a manner 
as to benefit and improve humanity now, and hence it is 
evident that there is a necessity for a more perfect and also 
for a more practical theory, which shall be adapted to the 
present requirements of the people, and shall be invested 
with power to reach down to the very root and foundation 
of existing wrongs. 

The subject thus presented has been made a matter of 
special and earnest investigation by the dwellers of the 
invisible world. For long ages have they gazed upon hu- 



THE SPIRITUAL INITIATION. 127 

manity with sorrowing hearts, and have mourned that the 
noblest work of God should dwell in debasement and cor- 
ruption. From the sympathy with which they have looked 
on the earthly world, they have been prompted to employ 
the means which are placed in their power — to exercise the 
wisdom with which they are invested, for the purpose of 
devising some appropriate method whereby the inhabit- 
ants of the earth may be raised to this state of heavenly 
exaltation, and placed beyond the crushing and perverting 
influences of prevailing evils. As a result of the investi- 
gation which has been made by the spirits of the Second 
Sphere, the writers of this work will present a statement 
of the mode in which they propose to enlighten, reform, 
and regenerate the race. 

In the outset the spirits desire to remark that the}* exist 
upon a plane of being where they are enabled to perceive 
the relation of cause and effect, and hence they have in- 
vestigated the subject to be unfolded with a special refer- 
ence to the existing causes by which the desired effect of 
human redemption may be produced. These causes are 
inherent in the constitution of Man ; they are already es- 
tablished in the organization of both body and spirit, and 
all that is needed to be accomplished by those who are 
the unseen agents of the work here represented, is to bring 
these causes into active and successful operation. In other 
words, there are certain established principles in the hu- 
man structure — certain relations subsisting between the 
body and spirit, and certain influences at work upon the 
entire system of man, by which the desired and designed 
result of a universal reformation can be and will be at- 
tained. These principles, relations and influences are 
clearly seen and known by the inhabitants of the Second 



128 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

Sphere ) and hence they desire to place themselves in the 
position of teachers with relation to what they are enabled 
to perceive on a subject that lies beyond the sphere of 
earthly conception. The statement which they desire to 
make in this place, will be designed to open and prepare 
the way for a perfect elucidation of the whole mystery 
which pertains to human redemption. They desire to re- 
mark that the primary principle which is observed as the 
foundation of the grand system that they have erected, 
lies in the truth that the world is gross and needs to be re- 
fined — that the world is material and needs to be made 
spiritual — that the world is earthly and corrupt and needs 
to be rendered heavenly and pure. The real work, there- 
fore, to be accomplished is thus placed clearly before the 
mind * and the question that remains is that which has 
relation to the means by which an effect so grand and glo- 
rious in its nature can be produced. 

This question the spirits will endeavor to answer. In 
the first place, the human system needs to be refined. For 
this purpose it is necessary that it should be subjected to 
a certain process which is seen and known in the wisdom 
of spirits — which process is the process of spiritualization 
to w^hich reference has been made in another portion of 
this volume. By this process the primary stages of spiri- 
tual development are attained ; and the individual who is 
subjected to the pains and sufferings which are incident 
to this process, has entered upon the course of unfolding 
whose ultimate is seen in the complete development of the 
immortal nature, and in the supremacy of the spiritual pow- 
ers over the lusts and passions of the flesh. This, there- 
fore, represents the primary mode by which man is to be- 
come enlightened, elevated and spiritualized, and by 



THE SPIRITUAL -SITIATION. 129 

which the race may become raised to that lofty position to 
which it naturally aspires in the sublime soarings of the 
soul. The spirits wish to remark here that the process of 
spiritualization to which reference has been made, repre- 
sents the first stages of the spiritual initiation which forms 
the subject of the present Lecture. This process is the 
preparation which every individual must undergo, previous 
to his entering upon that sublime and beautiful initiation 
which the spirits have prepared for those who are worthy, 
or, in other words, for those who are advanced to a suitable 
point of interior development. When the process of spi- 
ritualization has been undergone — when the system has 
been refined and purified by the application of the princi- 
ple of Motion, then the individual to oe initiated has been 
elevated to a higher sphere of thought — he no longer 
grovels in the world of sense — he no longer gropes in the 
darkness of the lower sphere, but he feels elevated, har- 
monious, and spiritual, and looks upward towards the 
flowing light of those higher Spheres, whose beauty is 
ready to dawn upon his vision. 

Therefore as the next step in the spiritual initiation, the 
senses which belong to the spirit become uufolded by the 
direct action and influence of spiritual beings — the inte- 
rior perceptions and the vision which belongs to the soul 
are unfolded in the inward being, so that it is no longer 
dependent on material organs for the observations which 
it desires to make, and acts on the principle of an independ- 
ent agent which has been released from a degrading bond- 
age. Now the external world retreats from the view — 
the grasp which the senses had upon external things 
becomes relaxed, and the spirit enters into that inward 
sanctuary where it exercises its own exalted powers, and 



130 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

worships in the beauty of holiness. In this manner the 
superior condition of the spirit is attained, and thus the 
individual who has undergone the preparatory process, is 
prepared to to be initiated into the mysterious, but beautiful 
and sublime truths which dwell in the Spheres of undim- 
med light.and pervade the boundless sanctuary of theDivine 
Mind. The preparatory process has exalted the individual 
to a state where he is freed from the bondage of lust and 
sin — where he can look forth upon the wide expanse of 
spiritual life as a sea in whose depths is mirrored the 
bending sky; but the spiritual initiation conveys him with- 
in the sanctuary which mortal eye has never beheld, and 
which the most expanded reason of the earthly mind is un- 
able to conceive. Rising far above the shadows that 
darken his way while undergoing the severe and mysterious 
ordeal of spiritualization, he now looks upon life with a calm 
serenity of spirit, and receives into his welcoming bosom 
the thrilling voices which fill the silent air. He now per- 
ceives the inmost reality of life ; he now sees the substance 
of that which he had before only beheld as a shadow ,* he 
feels that he has approached near to the Divinity — that 
he has entered into a sacred and hallowed temple, and 
that he can commune with the glorious powers on high, 
until his own spirit is filled with the ambrosia of celestial 
life. This is the spiritual initiation — the ultimate means of 
bringing the whole race into immediate connection with 
the invisible world, and placing man upon that elevated 
plane of being where all the wrongs, and sufferings, and 
evils of society will be removed forever. 

The spirits wish to elucidate the subject of the spiritual 
initiation still farther, this having been presented thus far 
only in a general view. They wish to unfold, as far as pos- 



THE SPIRITUAL INITIATION. 131 

6ible, the precise nature of the process by which the spirit 
becomes expanded and ennobled to that degree ; where it 
is prepared to receive and digest the heavenly truths 
which are waiting to be disclosed, and which have power 
to infuse a new life into the deepest heart of the soul. 
The initiation which the spirits have designed for those 
who are prepared to be thus blessed, is simple and natural 
in its character; and yet is sublime and glorious beyond all 
human conception, — even as the stars which adorn the 
nightly sky are simply worlds revolving in their orbits, and 
are yet majestic and inconceivable suns whose pathway 
reaches to the distant depths of the Universe. This initi- 
ation has reference not to any external requirement, not to 
any arbitrary authority, not to any sensuous experience, 
but it is the interior reception, appreciation, and digestion 
of great truths, which have relation to the real and immor- 
tal interests of the spiritual being. It has relation to the 
elucidation and consciousness of those realities which it 
has been the mission of angels to discover, and which it is 
the highest office of humanity to receive. It is the ordeal 
by which the soul is sublimated to its divinest height — by 
which it is raised into immediate and personal communion 
with the dwellers of the heavenly world, and whereby it 
can listen to the sweet and tranquilizing discourses which 
are filled with the essence and extract of divine truth. It 
is the initiation of the spirit into that interior temple which 
it is designed to inhabit in the worlds of bliss and immor- 
tality, which are the home of the ever-living soul. It is in 
short, the experience, appreciation, and inward digestion, 
of that appropriate and corresponding truth which is the 
the light, and strength, and joy of the soul on earth, and 
the inexpressible exaltation and glory of the redeemed 



132 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

angels. Therefore will it be apparent to those minds 
that can appreciate the beauty and reality of this initia- 
tion, that the spirits have discovered a means by which the 
world may be truly and completely saved — by which its 
errors, its superstitions and follies may be removed from 
the earth, and through which, also, the radiance of the di- 
vine mansions may be seen, and felt, and enjoyed in the 
habitations of men. 

Thus the spirits have taken the work of human redemp- 
tion into their own hands; they have seen that the efforts 
of mortals were in vain ; they have seen that, with all the 
light which they could obtain from the world around them 
— with all the exercise of the reason which they were 
prepared to use, the labors of men would be hopeless and 
comparatively fruitless, without a direct and special inter- 
position of spiritual power. For this reason the spirits 
have investigated the essential principles to be applied ; 
they have examined the causes that were necessary to 
the production of the desired results, and they have seen 
that the result which they desire to accomplish will be 
easily and naturally attained by the use of the means 
that have been discovered. The blessed results of 
-which they here speak, is the end that forms the object for 
which the philanthropist ever labors, and the blessing for 
which the great heart of Humanity ever sighs. As the 
stream of human progress rolls onward through the aven- 
ues of the world — as the light breaks in upon the advan- 
cing nations, the spirits will commence the process which 
they have in view, and will introduce the glorious result, 
of which they have here spoken. The precise nature of 
the process which has been prepared will not be fully 
comprehended by the sensuous mind, because there is an 



THE SPIRITUAL 'NITIATION. 133 

absence of all corresponding experience, and there is no 
comparison to be made between this and the sensual plea- 
sures in which the mass revel and delight. But the great 
end to be attained will be universally recognized as one 
which is worthy ot the labors of the celestial hosts ; and 
to those who have a faith and confidence in the power 
which they have now gained over the world, it will be a 
sweet and unfailing thought that the means which are 
contained in the spiritual initiation will be adapted to the 
production of the designed effect, and will be successful 
in removing the corruptions and errors of the race. 

See the gloom which rests upon the face of the earth ! 
Do the mortals of the lower sphere realize the cause of 
the darkness which comes between them and Heaven ? 
Do they appreciate the truth that the cause lies in the pre- 
dominance and supremacy of the animal nature, and that 
sensuality and materialism form the veil which shuts out 
from their vision the forms of glory that float above them 
in the sky? No. They do not realize this, and hence the 
theories which they have formed for the eradication of ex- 
isting evil are unnatural and wrong ; but the truth which 
is here expressed is perceived and realized by the dwell- 
ers of the Second Sphere, and it is made the basis of all 
their efforts for human elevation. It is to elevate and re- 
fine the spirit, that it becomes necessary to spiritualize the 
system as a preparatory process ; and it is to expand, to 
strengthen and ennoble the interior powers, that the spiri- 
tual initiation has been discovered and systematized by 
the unseen friends of the human family. The institutions 
of society have presented some faint shadow of the inte- 
rior process which will be adopted in the spiritual ordeal ; 
but they are filled with that same external grossness — that 



134 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

sensuous experience — that same groveling conception of 
outward virtue, which has weakened and depressed the 
energies of man in all ages. The spirits desire to reach 
down to the inward life — to affect the springs of action in the 
soul — to breathe upon the dead mass of stagnant elements 
a renewed animation which has connection with the inner 
thoughts, and feelings, and aspirations of the living heart. 
It is for the attainment of this grand end that the spirits 
have discovered a new and more elevating initiation than 
has been employed by any earthly institution ; and it is 
for this that they have introduced the preparatory process 
of spiritualization, by which the system will become pre- 
pared for the reception and mingling of those etherial es- 
sences that form the refined body of the disrobed soul. 
This is an initiation which serves to develop the spirit — 
to render it predominant over the animal and earthly na- 
ture — to exalt its aspirations, its hopes, and its desires to 
a higher and more blissful sphere of action in the world 
of angelic purity. The mode of social regeneration that 
is thus adopted, presents the only method by which hu- 
manity can be deeply and thoroughly impressed with the 
love and truth of heavenly ministers — the only way by 
which the darkness can be fully and successfully re- 
moved — the only way by which the beauty and divinity 
of the human soul can be clearly revealed. If, therefore, 
the world will trust in the power, and wisdom, and goodness 
of the celestial beings who ever hover lovingly around it * 
if it will have faith in the process which has been dis- 
covered for the spiritualization of the material body, and 
then if it will be willing to enter into the inner courts of 
the divine sanctuary and bow before the altar of celestial 
truth, it will be saved from the burdens with which it is 



THE SPIRITUAL INITIATION. 135 

now oppressed — it will be delivered from the evils which, 
have weighed down the soul to dust, and it will be re- 
leased from all the entanglements of flesh and sense by 
which it has been bound and fettered ; so that in the com- 
ing era which is beheld in the dim future, the race shall 
stand as the redeemed and sanctified production of the 
Supreme Mind, and shall be illuminated with the light 
that streams from the lofty heights and deeper depths of 
the spiritual Universe. 



LECTURE XI. 

MODES OF SPIRITUAL INTERCOURSE. 

The subject of Spiritual Intercourse is one which is 
possessed of intrinsic interest and importance, both to the 
dwellers of the Second Sphere and the mortals who dwell 
upon the earth. It is a subject which has reference to the 
most momentous results of which the imagination of man 
can entertain any shadow. It is a subject which will be 
the cause of a general awakening of humanity from its 
death-like slumber, to the newness of a glorious resur- 
rection. It is a theme which the world will receive with 
the most gladdening welcome, when it has properly con- 
ceived of the blessings with which it is pregnant. There- 
fore will the spirits, in the present discourse, reveal some 
of the prominent truths which are connected with this sub- 
ject, with a reference to the several modes of Spiritual 
Intercourse which have been established on the earth. 

In the introduction of an intercourse with the earth- 
children, the spirits found it necessary to employ such 
means as were placed in their power, and take such a 
course as would be best adapted to the state of the human 
mind. Accordingly, the modes by which they have mani- 
fested their presence and power, have varied according to 
the existing conditions of the general mind, and the de^ 
grees of development to which the race has arrived in dif- 
ferent eras. Spirits have seen that the dignity of spiritual 
intercourse consists in the value which this possesses in- 



MODES OF SPIRITUAL INTERCOURSE. 137 

tiinsically, and not in the particular mode by which it is 
established and made manifest ) but they see that this 
mode has been varied so as to be precisely adapted to the 
condition of the minds with which such intercourse has 
been held. As light is adapted to the eye — as sound is 
suited to the ear — and as the fragrance of the flower cor- 
responds precisely to the sense by which it is perceived, 
so is the mode of spiritual intercourse in all cases made 
to correspond with the development and capacity of the 
individuals by whom it is enjoyed. In this manner a per- 
fect gradation is produced in the modes in which this in- 
tercourse has been manifested, which corresponds with the 
gradations that are observed in the forms of external sub- 
stance. 

Spirits have an inexhaustible source of ways and means 
whereby to convince the world of their presence and power, 
and these ways and means will be always employed in 
accordance with the dictates of wisdom and the necessities 
of the people who maybe addressed. In any event which 
can possibly occur — under any circumstances which can 
ever transpire, the spirits have a reserve supply of exhaust- 
less resources, which renders their action and influence 
steady, unvarying, and incessant. When from any cause 
they are not able to operate in one way, they take the op- 
portunity which is presented for operating in another; and 
when they perceive that the means which they have used 
to accomplish a certain object have not been entirely suc- 
cessful, they immediately employ the other means which 
will be adapted to the production of the desired result. 
Thus there is no possibility with the spirits of ever being 
placed in a situation where they will be compelled to de- 
sist from any undertaking which has originated in divine 



138 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

wisdom The source from which the thoughts of angels 
are derived, is always inexhaustible; and hence they are 
never at a loss for a power with which to operate m any 
conceivable emergency. Accordingly, the dwellers of the 
Second Sphere, having many centuries since determined 
to open an intercourse with their earthly kindred, employ- 
ed the means which were first presented, and which seem- 
ed to be adapted to the production of the designed result. 

The primary mode of intercourse formed a complete 
vepresentation of the imperfect and undeveloped state of 
the human race, and was made to accord with the materi- 
alistic views and feelings which were prevalent on the 
earth. In this mode of intercourse, the spirits with whom 
the design of communicating with the world originated, 
employed the spirits cf a lower circle who resided nearest 
to the sphere of sensuous existence, to so operate upon 
material substances in the presence of certain individuals, 
as to produce a physical demonstration of the existence of 
some invisible power. This was the mode by which the 
spirits could appeal directly to the external senses of man, 
and by which they could furnish an evidence of immor- 
tality that could not be gainsayed or resisted. With the 
production of physical results, which were the primary 
means of attracting the attention of the world, the spirits 
associated such impressions and breathings of thought as 
would be felt and received by the gross minds of the peo- 
ple. In the early stages of this development, it could not 
be otherwise than that the results produced should be of 
the most imperfect nature, and should also be illy adapted 
to satisfy the reasoning and expanded soul. Still, even 
then, the designed effect was successfully produced ; the 
attention of the people was awakened — an interest was 



THE SPIRITUAL INITIATION. 139 

excited in the subject of the invisible presence and power, 
and the thoughts of the mass, though mingled with the 
grossest superstitions, were directed towards the revelation 
of some unseen and powerful agent which was to over- 
throw the established institutions of the world. It has 
been seen that the first object to be accomplished was the 
awakening of the general mind from the apathy of ignor- 
ance ; and it has been clearly perceived that this result 
has been completely attained by the introduction of the 
primary mode of spiritual intercourse, as manifested in the 
production of physical results — such as the moving of 
material substances, and the startling vibrations of the at- 
mosphere. To the dull senses of the corrupted world, this 
mode of intercourse was precisely adapted ; and it was 
with a wise regard to the effect which would be produced 
upon the sensuous nature, that the sounds and demonstra- 
tions referred to were primarily conceived by the dwellers 
of the Second Sphere. 

It was not congenial to the exalted spirits who desired 
to benefit the world, to even imagine or conceive such a 
mode of intercourse as is here represented ; but the wis- 
dom by which they are governed dictated this course as 
the only method by which the foundation might be laid 
for a more extensive structure of spiritual truth. There- 
fore the spirits, when they had clearly seen that the course 
which had been conceived was the only one which would 
be effectual, commenced immediately the accomplishment 
of the purpose which had been formed, and commissioned 
the more undeveloped spirits which reside in lower cir- 
cles to introduce the manifestations of their presence by 
the production of physical results. Accordingly the world 
was startled by the sounds, strange and mysterious, which 



140 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

occurred in the vicinity of Rochester, N. Y. ; and, from 
this beginning, the same or similar manifestations have 
been extended to numerous localities, and have been pro- 
duced in the presence of many individuals. The testimo- 
ny with reference to these manifestations has now become 
so accumulated and extensive, that it is not necessary for 
the spirits to refer to individual instances in which they 
have been known to occur. It is only necessary to state 
that spiritual demonstrations are almost constantly occur- 
ring in different localities, and that these irresistible evi- 
dences of invisible power are confounding the skeptic, en- 
lightening the ignorant, and reforming the vicious. The 
spirits are pleased with the result which has thus far been 
produced ; they are pleased that the human mind is arou- 
sing from its lethargy, and arising to a realizing sense of 
the destiny which awaits the race ; they are pleased that 
the world has received an evidence of immortality which 
it could not find in the musty records of past ages ; they 
are pleased that the possibility of an intercourse with de- 
parted kindred is beginning to be almost universally per- 
ceived and acknowledged ; and they are pleased that the 
sweet conviction of immortal life — the re-union of friends 
in Heaven, and a communion with the departed on the 
earth, has served to elevate the thoughts, desires, and af- 
fections of men, leading them upward from the things 
which fade and die, to the Eternal City whose maker and 
builder is God. It is seen by the spirits that the primary 
mode of intercourse with the world, has supplied a want 
which had always existed previous to the period of its in- 
troduction, and also, that it has effectually and success- 
fully accomplished the result which was originally intend- 
ed and desired. Therefore, when they had seen that the 



THE SPIRITUAL INITIATION. 141 

world was prepared for something higher and better than 
the husks on which it had been feeding — when they per- 
ceived that there was an appreciation of the great primary- 
truths of spiritual intercourse, and that there was mani- 
fested an aspiration — deep and unceasing — for the reve- 
lation of realities which lie beyond the sphere of the sen- 
ses, then did the angels descend from their lofty home, 
and approach the planet of which they were once inhabit- 
ants, for the purpose of ministering to the necessities of 
such as had outgrown the garments of sensuality, and were 
prepared to receive and digest interior food. 

This action and purpose in the minds of spirits resulted 
in the introduction of another and superior mode of inter- 
course with the inhabitants of the earth, which is seen to be 
of a higher and more perfect nature. This mode is rep- 
resented by the moving of the hand and arm of an indi- 
vidual to write, independently of the action of his own 
mind. In this mode of spiritual communion, the individ- 
ual who acts in the capacity of medium, is the passive 
instrument of the communicating spirits. There is no 
effort of mind on his part to originate or control anything 
which is written ; but there is a sense of tranquility and 
trust experienced by such an individual, which amounts to 
the most peaceful and harmonious frame of mind that 
can possibly be induced. Indeed, the more completely 
passive becomes the individual — the more fully and thor- 
oughly the mind sleeps during the process of writing, the 
more satisfactory and intelligent are the communications 
received. This state of mental passivenes being essential 
to this mode of intercourse, and the intelligence conveyed 
being imparted from a source which is entirely independ- 
ent of the mind of the medium, it cannot be inwardly felt 



142 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

or righteously asserted that the thoughts and truths express- 
ed in the writing proceed, either consciously or unconscious- 
ly, from the mind which is, so far as outward influences 
permit, entirely passive. It should be understood that the 
mode of intercourse which is here explained, is of a char- 
acter which entirely forbids self-deception \ and if there be 
deception at all, this must result from the predetermined 
will of an individual to deceive. The medium sits in the 
attitude of writing ; he knows that his hand will not move 
to write without it is moved, either by his own will, or 
some foreign power • if it is moved by his own will, he is, 
or may be, entirely conscious of the fact, because the very 
faculty of will necessarily implies a self-consciousness of 
the act of willing ; and if the hand is moved by a foreign 
power, this fact is made equally plain, because the medium 
well knows that if he himself is not conscious of moving 
his hand and it still moves, there must be some extraneous 
agent or influence by which the movement is produced. 
Therefore there is no necessity for any medium who is 
employed for writing, to be self-deceived with relation to 
the movement of his hand * and if the world requires a test 
of the genuineness of the communications which are thus 
produced, the test can be given by an intelligence which 
dwells far above the regions of earth, and which is freed 
from the corruptions of earthly minds. 

The spirits desire to say in this place that the writing 
which they produce through the medium of the individual 
who is now employed for this purpose, is produced inde 
pendently of his own mind; and the evidence of this 
fact will be furnished to the world in the elucidation of 
those truths which are beyond the grasp of his own con- 
ceptions. It is their desire to state farther, that the mode 



MODES OF SPIRITUAL INTERCOURSE. 143 

of intercourse which is here represented, is the most ex- 
alted and reliable of all others which have been previously- 
introduced ; and the results of this intercourse will prove 
that what is here stated is the exact truth. Spirits have 
selected the meftum by whom the present article is writ- 
ten, to act as an agent for the spirits residing in the Sixth 
Circle of the Second Sphere. By the process of spiritual- 
ization which he has undergone, they have discovered that 
he is worthy to be received into the inner courts of the 
spiritual temple, through the sublime initiation with which 
he will be speedily blessed. When this initiation has 
been conferred, he will then be furnished with a precise 
and accurate knowledge of the mode by which others, 
who have attained to a similar degree of development, 
may be introduced into the same sphere of light and love ; 
and it will become an important part of his mission to 
visit the circles of love and wisdom in different localities, 
and confer the same blessing on others which has been 
bestowed primarily on him. The spirits speak of these 
things in this connection because they form a prominent 
feature in the philosophy of social regeneration, and be- 
cause they are necessary to be understood in order that an 
aspiration may be excited for the truths and principles 
which are contained in the spiritual Universe. If the 
world will receive and comprehend these things — if it 
will realize the necessity of the initiation which has been 
mentioned — then will it be prepared to solve the great 
mystery of social reform and human redemption, which 
has been penetrated by angelic wisdom. 

Spirits have seen that the modes of spiritual intercourse 
have been adapted to the state of the general mind, and 
that the efforts which they have made to confer upon the 



144 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

world the blessings of Heaven, have been thus far suc- 
cessful to the extent of their desires. There is no joy so 
great in the angel-bosom as that which flows from the 
benevolent thought and the kind deed ; and it has been 
this joy which has counteracted the repelling influence of 
corrupted minds in the lower sphere, and has sustained 
the efforts which have been commenced for the elevation 
and redemption of the human race. An intercourse which 
cannot be destroyed or overthrown by worldly bigotry, has 
been established with the children of men. Complete con- 
trol has been gained over many individuals who will act 
as mediums for the transmission of spiritual truth, and 
who will be sustained and strengthened in their exalted 
mission by that same power and wisdom by which they 
are moved. Therefore shall the joys and privileges of 
spiritual communion be extended to the great mass who 
have groped in darkness ; and thus shall the streams of 
peace flow over the earth in refreshing and invigorating 
floods, which shall cause the waste places to be glad and 
the wilderness to bud and blossom as the rose. 



LECTURE XII. 

BIRTH OF THE SPIRIT. 

The spirits approach a subject which they take pleasure 
in elucidating, and to which they are inherently attracted, 
because they see that it is a theme which should be brought 
clearly before the human mind, and understood in that 
beautiful and sublime light in which it is beheld by the 
inhabitants of the Second Sphere. In order that this sub- 
ject may be clearly and satisfactorily presented to the read- 
er, it will be necessary that the spirits should refer to the 
nature of the human organization. It should be understood 
that the human being is composed of two substances which 
are known as matter and spirit. These two substances 
are incorporated with the very elements of his constitu- 
tion, causing him to present the example of a miniature 
universe, in which the elements of gross matter are min- 
gled with the essences of refined spirit. But it should be 
observed that, in the human organization, the elements of 
spirit exist in a concentrated and organized form, constitu- 
ting a separate and distinct personality within the mate- 
rial and external frame. This indwelling organization is 
formed by the attractive influence of the germ of the soul, 
which germ is the essence of the Divine Being that has 
an existence in the most interior portions of all matter, and 
becomes concentrated in the structure of man, because he 
is the perfected flower of creation. Therefore this internal 
organization, which is termed the human spirit, contains 



146 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

the essence of the Divinity as the inmost heart by which 
it is moved, animated and governed \ and it is by the pow- 
er of this pure and heavenly germ that the organization of 
the inward man is maintained and preserved. There is a 
physical body, and there is a spiritual body ; and it should 
be universally known that the spiritual body resides with- 
in the physical as the soul by which it is kept in being. 

In the ordinary condition of individuals, the elements of 
the spirit, being retained in the organization to which they 
belong through the power of the inward germ, are diffused 
to a certain extent throughout the entire system, and are 
caused to pervade the gross materials of which the body 
is composed. Therefore the spirit, in this condition, is de- 
pendent on the external organs — receives its intelligence 
chiefly through the medium of the external senses, and 
produces the manifestations of its presence and power by 
an exercise of the material limbs. From this cause the 
existence of the spirit has been a matter of doubt with 
many intelligent and reasoning minds, and there has been 
no evidence which could entirely remove the unbelief of 
the skeptic, with the exception of that which is being pro- 
duced in the present age by the inhabitants of celestial 
regions. But the spirit has a no less substantial and vigor- 
ous existence, though the more outward essences are in- 
termingled with material elements, — because these essen- 
ces are caused to maintain their appropriate position in the 
spiritual organization, through the power of the inmost heart 
which lives within its depths. Accordingly, the spirit pre- 
serves the identity with which it is endowed, and continues 
under all circumstances the same separate and independ- 
ent organization which it was originally created. From 
the sentiment which is now before the mind, the spirits 



BIRTH OF THE SPIRIT. 147 

will proceed to remark, that the spirit in the human body 
commences its existence where it does, because it was ne- 
cessary that the elements of which it is composed should 
have a frame-work by which they might become properly 
arranged, and because it was required that these elements 
should have a temporary basis on which to rest during the 
process of internal organization. But when the spirit has 
been created and caused to dwell within the external frame 
as an interior organization, then there can be no power or 
change in the whole Universe by which the spirit can be 
destroyed ; and this reflection leads immediately to the 
subject on which the spirits propose to address the reader. 
It is universally known upon the earth, that there is a 
change which passes upon the human frame, whereby its 
vitality is extinguished and its elements dissolved. It is 
known that this change has been the essential attribute of 
the physical frame — an attribute by which it becomes like 
the perishing flower of summer or the falling leaves of 
autumn. It is known that this change has been a source 
of the deepest grief and sorrow — that it has been the cause 
of the most heart-rending suffering which mortals can ex- 
perience, and that it has been the direful destroyer of hu- 
man hopes and the dreaded desolation of earthly joys. 
This change has been denominated death by those who do 
not properly appreciate its nature, which term does not ex- 
press the reality of the change that is here indicated. The 
term death indicates an entire extinction of being, and is 
appropriate only to apply to the external appearance that 
is visible in physical dissolution. As has been shown in 
a previous paragraph, the spirit — the organization which 
lives within the man — can never die. The storm and 
tempest may breathe upon it but it remains ever firm and 



148 THE SPIRITUAL TEACHER. 

steadfast as the eternal rock; the outward tabernacle in 
which it has been nurtured may dissolve, but this endures 
as the sublime creation of the Infinite ; and when the change 
which passes upon all flesh brings destruction to the phy- 
sical frame, the spirit by which it was sustained soars up- 
ward with a freed wing towards the attractive sky. Death, 
therefore, which has been the cause of sorrow and mourn- 
ing to the inhabitants of the earthly world, is not an entire 
extinction of being as has been supposed, and as this term 
indicates ) but it is the glorious birth of the spirit, a pro- 
cess or change by which it is released from the fading ta- 
bernacle of clay, and is enabled to exercise its own exalted 
powers m the light of a more expanded Sphere. 

The spirits have now arrived at a point where it will be 
necessary to elucidate the nature of the birth which is here 
mentioned. They desire to speak of the beautiful and 
interesting process by which the spirit becomes separated 
from its material structure and is born into the celestial 
world. It has been stated that t the elements of the spirit 
are ordinarily diffused through the entire organization of 
the body, and are not in a state of perfect concentration so 
as to be withdrawn from it as a perfect and undivided form. 
Therefore when the vitality which forms the connecting 
link between the spirit and its frame-work is destroyed, 
the elements of which the spiritual body is composed,are at- 
tracted from the surface and extremities of the organism to 
the brain,from which they are eliminated in the form of an 
emanation or atmosphere that constitutes the substance of the 
spirit. When this emanation or atmosphere has become 
completely thrown off from the perishing body, then this 
gradually forms into a definite and perfect figure, through 
the attractive power of the most interior essence which has 



BIRTH OF THE SPIRIT. 149 

been denominated the germ of the soul. After this process 
has been completed, and the spiritual form has been ren- 
dered perfect and indestructible by the combination of 
kindred elements, then the spirit is gradually separated 
from the structure to which it was previously attracted, 
and is borne away by the aid of congenial companions to 
the position in the spiritual world which it naturally and 
appropriately occupies. Thus the death of the body is the 
beautiful birth of the spirit ; and the spirits have present- 
ed this explanation simply that the perfection of the ex- 
isting Universe and the laws which govern it, may be made 
clearly manifest. 

Spirits have designed in introducing the present subject, 
to offer a pleasing exposition of the change which is term- 
ed death, and to speak of a process which has been deemed 
fearful and solemn by those who have been acquainted 
simply with the external appearance. They have in this 
article made an application of principles which are estab- 
lished in the bosom of Nature, and they will conclude 
with the sentiment that these principles are the eternal and 
unchangeable manifestations of the Divine Mind. 



WORDS OF WISDOM. 



Be guided in every action more by the inward voice 
than by any external direction, inasmuch as the external 
js not the real and the internal is the true reality. 

Rely not upon any external authority, though it should be 
presented in the name of the most advanced spirits, for 
authority forbids the proper exercise of reason, and that which 
is received without reason can make no appeal to the spirit 

Place reliance not so much on what spirits say as on 
what they &e, for what they say will be but a feeble and 
imperfect expression of indwelling truth, but what they be 
involves the inherent qualities of the soul which no change 
or circumstance can destroy 

Receive only that as truth which can be comprehend- 
ed by the reason and which has an application to the in- 
ner consciousness of the soul, for that which is above or 
beyond reason cannot be inwardly digested, and that 
which does not appeal to the conciousness of the soul can 
do the soul no good. 

Finally, let the standards of thought and action which 
mortals have erected, be made subservient to the divine 
and immutable standard which is presented in Nature and 
the developed soul. 



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